pathway to darkness
by thebladeofchaos
Summary: My friends are behind me all the way. with my faith in my cards, lets see how far we can go. mix up of the series with a lot of cards and characters
1. of blades and Synchrons

I thought I may as well give this ago.

To make sure I keep the deck the same, I've written down every card in my deck.

If you don't know what the card is, chances are I've made it up, I know of 23 cards I've made up for my deck. (I do play Yugioh a bit, but not much, I do enjoy it a hell of a lot)

My Deck in real life is full of random cards pulled together for a single devastating combo, this lot isn't, alright.

* * *

Chapter 1.

Of Swords and Synchrons.

In the middle of an arena, a full crowd around me and my opponent. My trusted cards in hand held in my hand in what looks like a critical position and my black duel disk on my arm. No monsters, no traps or spells. My opponent is the great Yugi Moto, on his field is Slyther the Sky Dragon with 3000 attack points, two face downs and 2000 life points compared to my 850.

My last draw.

"My Move. Draw" I speak, looking at what I've drawn. My trump card…alright a chance to win. "First off, I play the spell cards Durudal's Sacred Law and Monster Reborn" I place the two cards down and see them pop as on the field. Durundal's Sacred Law looking like a sword with a sacred light upon it. "Thanks to Durundal, I can bring back my Battle Ox, as long as I remove one card from the game.

I look at my hand, seeing that the only card I can really remove is Big Shield Gardna…Sorry Gardna, this has to be done. I put the card into a pocket in my leather jacket, reaching onto my duel disk for Battle Ox, placing it on the field in attack mode.

"And then, due to Monster reborn, I can bring back my Blade Synchron" I continue, reaching down and pulling the card off, putting it on the field in attack mode, the projection of a squire holding a sword comes up (3 stars, 1000 attack points, 800 defence, showing me my trump card. "Next I play Call of the Haunted, to bring back my Judge Man in attack mode" I play the card, seeing my life point indicator going from 850 to 50; I bring back the warrior, seeing him and his club on the field. I place the three spell cards in the graveyard, reading my next move.

"Come on then, Craig" the champion tells me, standing relaxed with his cards in hand. "My Egyptian god won't fall too easily"

"Actually, he might do" I reply, smiling. "I'll tune my Blade Synchron to my Judge Man" Pointing to the two cards, the squire runs up to judge man, offering the sword he was carrying. The judge picks it up and holds it as the squire turns into those circles, floating around my Judge. "Fallen warriors lend their strength. Become the vassal of war you were born to be!"

A bright light fills the room, centred on my warrior. I raise my hand in one of those dramatic ways. The crowd roars as they know what is coming…My best Card.

"Come forth, Darkblade the Holy!" I shout. The light fades and my best card…no, my best man appears in the centre of a whirlwind. (8 star, 2700 attack, 2500 defence) he is still wearing his famous black armour, his white hair and brave face. He was holding his great sword firm. Man was I glad he was here.

"Heh, it appears your not good at maths" Yugi laughs, looking at my monster. "for all your work, your monster only has 2500 to my monsters 3000"

"I'm getting to that" I answer, pulling another card out of my hand. "I play pot of greed, which lets me draw another two cards" I pull the two cards, thankful that my cards have pulled through for me again. "I play Excalibur's wrath and United We Stand" both cards pop up, Excalibur's wrath image of a sword being forced out of its pedestal. "For every monster on the field, Darkblade gains 800 attack and defence points" I watch as the number goes up to 3500.

"Not so fast, I play the spell card pot of greed" the card pops up and he draws two cards, and I watch as the red dragon's attack points go up to 4000, higher then my warriors. I still smiled.

"Well then you've missed out on something Yugi" I tell him, I spy Tea, Joey and Tristan out of the corner of my eye, so I guess all of his friends are here. "Excalibur's wrath increases any warrior type monster's attack points by 1000" I watch as the sword join's my warrior, seeing him grip the handle and his Attack points go up to 4500. "And that is enough to destroy your dragon"

I can see in Yugi's eyes that he has admitted defeat. I always thought he would fight to the end in a doomed duel. He looks at his friends, smiling as he looks back at me.

"Your Good, Craig" he tells me, that is an honour in any right, the king of games himself saying that. He gives me a thumbs up which I return. "You win, now attack my dragon and finish this"

"Gladly" I answer, looking at my warrior, taking a side stance. "Darkblade the Holy, attack Slyther the Sky Dragon" I point to the mighty dragon. My warrior immediate moves towards it. "Dark slash of the holy!"

Darkblade slashes through the dragon, and I watch with a satisfied smile as it explodes. I've beaten the legend himself, in one attack.

"Battle Ox, Attack Yugi Directly with raider's rampage!"

My Monster runs toward the king, slashing at him and finishing what was left of his life points. I stand still as Yugi falls to the ground, watching as the holograms fade. I run over to the king, the crowd chanting my name even louder then before. I kneel next to him, helping him off the ground.

"Craig" he starts, looking at me.

"Yes Yugi" I answer.

"Craig" he repeats, I look him in the eye, then hear the whole crowd chant my name…

"Craig! Wake up!" I hear my mum shout. I wake up with a start, shame, I was enjoying that dream, I looked round my room, seeing my mum over me.

"Morning" I tell her.

"More like afternoon" she tells me, pointing to the clock opposite, it was 1:20 Pm alright; man I had a deep sleep. "Hurry up or the bank will be closed"

I winced as I heard this, jumping out of bed, my mom left the room. I started getting changed, putting on a red shirt, jeans and black socks. I jumped down the stairs, grabbing my jacket as I went by it and shoved it on. I grabbed a few money bags as I ran past them, kissing my mum goodbye and running up town.

England wasn't such a bad country when you get used to it, we moved houses about two years ago to a nice house nearer town centre. I ran through the place, dodging cars and pedestrians as I ran through the streets. I decided to cut through the park to save time, dodging more people.

"Look out, coming through, pardon me" I say as I cut through the crowd gathered to watch a demonstration of the new D-wheel. I was amazed as I watched it while running, bumping into someone accidentally, dropping my money bags on the ground. "Sorry sir"

I start to gather my money up, as the man turned round to see who bumped into him. He watched me pick up my money, looking at me intently.

"Tell me young man" he starts, I don't look at him, but I could see his clothes, he was wearing a blue uniform. "Do you like Duel monsters?"

"Sorry sir, but don't you mean Yugioh?" I correct him.

"Well, yeah" he continued.

"I like it, I just don't have a deck to use so I can't really join in" I was starting to regret using imaginary cards in my dreams.

"Tell you what young man, I'll get you a deck and you can join in"

I look up at the guy having finished gathering up my change. He's got blonde short hair…he looks familiar, I just can't place where. Well…I was too busy thinking he was insane for offering that in the first place.

"Thank you sir" I say, getting up and giving him a piece of paper, which I quickly write my number on. "Text me where you want to give it to me when you have it" I then run off, heading to the bank.

About five minutes later, I arrive at the bank, finding it was open…just. I walk in, hand in my bank book and get the money processed JUST before the place was due to close. I check the book, checking to see if the money had gone through.

"Right, £2000 in the bank" I manage to say, putting the book in a pocket, I then hear my phone ring, looking at the ID I find its James, my brother…what could he want from Telford? I answered the call…

"Hey James" I said, hoping I was speaking to him.

"Hey Craig, how are you?" he answered, he sounded odd, but I decided not to pry.

"Fine thanks, you?"

"Great thanks"

"Not being rude, James, but what do you want?"

I hear him sigh on the other end of the phone, as if I wasn't meant to ask it, I heard him speak to some one else but I couldn't make out the words.

"Alright, you know those Yugioh cards you've been wanting for a while?" he asked.

"Yeah, but the cards I'd like never come in" I answer, sighing myself.

"Turns out there's a deck on show right now that has those cards in"

"You mean Darkblade the Holy and so on?"

"Look, I don't know what you call them, but there in a deck in town right now, apparently being used for the D-wheel exhibition"

"Thanks for the Info, James, but I'm not getting those cards now am I?"

"Nope, just thought I'd tell you" he then ends the call there, most likely traffic on the way here. I feel my phone vibrate; looking at it I find that a text has arrived.

"Who could this be?" I ask myself, opening it and finding that it was from a number I didn't recognise.

_Deck + D-Wheel at the park, meet me there _Is all it says. Deck and a D-wheel, I thought there was only a few due to problems with the navigation and traffic problems, but I wasn't one to turn down an offer like that. I wandered around town, saying hello to a few friends I passed on the way.

The crowd had left, and all that was left was the old man, he stood next to the D-wheel, keeping it safe for whoever he was waiting for. I walked over to him, keeping a calm head as I thought about this.

"So then Sonny" he starts. "Here's your Deck and I even got you a D-Wheel"

Ok, now I swear he's insane, the D-Wheel would cost THOUSANDS to rent for a few minutes.

"Thank you sir, but who are you and why are you doing this for me" I ask him, you can see why I'm asking.

"Just call me sir, and who said I was doing it for free"

I looked over the D-wheel, seeing its black paint running down the whole thing; it was just a black version of Yusei's from 5D, but longer and padded for comfort.

"What do you want for it then?" I ask him, looking back at him.

"Put these on and duel me using those cards" he pulls a black duel disk out, with the card placements spaces inside the disk and a little eyepiece, almost like one of those army sights.

"Sure" I take the sight first, putting it over my left eye and on my ear. I then take the duel disk and put it on my arm, seeing it activate with a rainbow of colours. "So where's my deck?"

He takes out a deck and shoves it into the holder, then walks about 10 paces away from the Bike; I do the same in the opposite direction, turning back to the man, seeing him with no duel disk.

"Err, how will you duel me without a duel disk?" I ask, he then undoes the uniform and shows me one of those chest duel plates along with its respective card placement thing.

"With this, now class is in session" he answered, I knew what came next.

"Duel!" we both shout at the same time.

A few people saw and heard us, looking at us and seeking entertainment they decided to watch us. We both drew five cards; looking at mine they seemed to be the cards I had dreamed of… especially Blade Synchron.

"You can go first if you want, Kid" he tells me, I look at him and wonder what pan he might have.

"Fair enough, and call me Craig" I answer, putting my hand on my deck. "Draw!" I pull the card out and check it, finding Scrap Iron Scarecrow. I look at my hand and just confirm what I have. Mirror Force, Double Summon, Judge Man, Blade Synchron and Battle Ox. "Alright, I begin by placing three cards face down on the field" I place Magic cylinder, Scrap Iron Scarecrow and Mirror force down, reaching for a Battle Ox. And placing it in defence mode. "Battle Ox in defence and that's it"

"Come on, Craig, you can do better then this can't you?" he taunted, he held his hand near the deck, a card was pushed out and he grabbed it. He looked at his hand, examining his hand. "I summon Ancient Gear Soldier in Attack mode!"

The old metal of the soldier came out of the ground, created by the hologram; it lifted its way out of the ground; holding an ancient gun; the cogs moving around inside it.

"This is what an expert can do!" he shouted, the group had turned into a small crowd; some were asking about my opponent, some even me. "Ancient Gear Soldier, Attack Battle Ox, Mechanized barrage!"

The soldier aimed his gun at my Battle Ox, like I was going to let him get away with that.

"Reveal face down card, Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" I shout, the defensive item appeared in between my monster and the gunner, absorbing all the bullets and then going back down.

"What!" he shouted.

"Simple, Scrap Iron Scarecrow negates one attack and sets back down once used" I answered, smiling as I saw him struggling.

"Fine, I play Graceful Charity." I watched as the card flipped up, showing the picture I remembered well. "So I can draw three cards, so long as I discard two"

I watched him draw the cards, seeing him smile as he had a plan; he discarded the two cards as he said he would. "I then place two face downs and end my turn" I watched as he did this, pointing to me. "Just try and beat me now, freshman!"

"Easy" I replied, drawing a card, fissure, great, and a perfect plan with a perfect win. "First off, I play fissure from my hand" I watched as his soldier was turned into scrap metal, he still smiled as I did this.

"I play Call of the haunted!" he shouted, revealing the card. "And I use it to bring back my Ancient Gear Golem!"

I was dreading something like that, I watched as the massive machine came out of the ground. 3000 attack points was going to be hard to topple, but at least I could do it.

"I end my turn"

"Fine, Draw" he gets a card from his jacket, smiling as he holds it in the air "I play Giant Tunade, which removes all magic and traps cards from the field!" a whirlwind picked up, blowing all spell and traps from the field… the golem was still standing due to a loop hole in it's use. I had lost my greatest defence, and was wide open. "Go Ancient Gear Golem; attack Battle Ox with Mechanized Melee"

I watched as the Golem slowly punched my Battle Ox…Sorry buddy, I then watch my life point's drop to 2000, due to the golem's effect. The monster slowly resets to its original position, content with the damage done. "I'll end my turn by placing two face downs"

"Alright" I nervously start, pulling the card out of my deck, Pot of Greed, useful right now. "I play Pot of Greed and Draw two cards" I draw them and look, seeing I had drawn Monster reborn and United We Stand. Anything is good right now. "Alright, I play Monster Reborn to bring back my Battle Ox" I point at the space where I would place it, seeing it return in a blue light. I could see my opponent laugh as he saw this.

"Don't you DARE laugh at these cards!" I shout at him, the crowd had grown and were now all looking at me. "I know that this is the first duel we have together, but I trust my deck to get me through this!" I looked at my deck, thinking about what to say next. "And let me show you my deck's strength!"

I pulled Blade Synchron out of my hand and placing it on the field. "I summon Blade Synchron!" I watched as the squire appeared, holding the blade as usual. "Next, I play double summon to bring out my Judge Man" I place the card in the graveyard and watch the noble warrior appear, removing Battle Ox from the field. "Next, I tune Blade Synchron with Judge Man!"

The squire walked over to the Warrior, holding the sword above him, the Judge picked up the sword as the squire turned into the three green rings, flying upwards, the judge jumped up and stopped in the air as the rings went around him.

"Fallen warriors lend their strength. become the vassal of war you were born to become!" I shouted, raising my hand up as the bright flash came on. The crowd watched in awe as my tuning occurred, even my opponent was amazed. "Darkblade the Holy, Come Forth!"

A great sword appeared, spinning around and landing blade down on the ground. Nothing else happened for a bit, but then a warrior in black armour landed on the ground, his appearance like I remembered it from my dream.

"Hah, easy" I heard someone say, I looked round finding no source of the noise, so I presumed it came from the crowd. I looked at my opponent, seeing him still smiling.

"You've done your maths wrong, boy. 2500 doesn't beat 3000" he gloated, laughing a bit. I laughed back, think how silly he was.

"That's the part you are meant to think" I spoke, holding United We Stand in my hand. I heard him gasp, as everyone looked at him.

"What are you planning boy?" he asked, getting slightly angry.

"This" I turned the card round, showing him the card. I watched as he squirmed as he realised what the card was. "I activate United We Stand!" I placed the card in the slot, equipping it to my monster, putting him up to 3500 attack points. I was happy at that.

"Oh wait" the guy realised something. "That only does 500 damage to my life points" he then scratched his cheek. "I will have 2700 life points left"

"And that's where Darkblade's effect comes in, but more on that later" I answer, getting my free hand pointing at his golem. "Go, Darkblade the Holy, destroy Ancient Gear Golem with Holy Slash of shadows"

I watched my warrior charge towards the Golem, slashing at the legs and throwing his sword at the creatures head, jumping up and grabbing it, holding still. "And that reminds me" I start, looking at the guy panic as his golem starts to collapse. "if Darkblade destroys a monster in attack mode, the monster's attack points come out of your life points!"

"What? No!" he shouted, I watch as Darkblade slashes the head of the golem off, heading towards the guy. "I can't lose to another Slacker!"

"You abused the cards, this is payback!" I answer, oddly he sounded like he had lost to someone before. Then the golem's head landed on him, followed by the rest of the golem. "Well, that was fun. Hard but fun"

The holograms disappeared and I put my cards back into my deck, putting the deck into a pocket in my jacket. I loved the way the duel disk folded up, the card placements folding into my disk, then shrinking a bit to more accommodate my arm. The crowd rushed over to me, saying things like 'awesome duel' and 'where did you get that card?' and 'are you a pro?'

I was only a newbie, nothing more then that. This was my first real duel, but I could find combos in the deck. I zoned out for a bit, feeling something…weird. I looked round and saw someone with long green hair and someone next to her with black hair standing in the shadows of some trees, someone walked by them and they disappeared. Well, it was strange, but I guess I was seeing things.

"Nice duel, Craig" my opponent came over and said. I looked at him, hoping he wasn't here to insult my cards any more. "You've earned that Deck and D-wheel"

"Well thanks, but who are you?" I asked him, everyone looked at him, wondering the same.

"I am Doctor Crowler, Phd in Duelling" he answered.

"Never heard of you"

"I have" someone in the crowd spoke, everyone looked at this one man. "He's the new scout for Kaiba corp."

"Kaiba Corp? That doesn't exist" I sceptically spoke.

"You mind your mouth Craig or I'll take them back off you" Crowley told me, I looked at him, still in disbelief but looking.

"Alright, so what do you want?" I ask, scratching my head, whacking myself with the duel disc

"Mr Kaiba is organising a new tournament for new players, it begins in 6 months and I believe a James wanted you to join" Crowler told me. He was speaking to me as if I was four years old.

"Good old James, he does want me to play then"

"I am the one who made this D-Wheel for you" I heard James speak, I turned round and saw him in formal clothes, I was amazed that he got here so quick.

"Nice to see you" I spoke.

"Craig, I had a bit of spare time and Mr Kaiba asked me to build a D-wheel for a new duellist" he walked over to me, thinking. "I recommended you and he agreed if you could beat Mr…"

"Doctor!" Crowler interrupted.

"If you could defeat Crowler" he continued, ignoring Crowler. "I told him of the cards you wanted and he got this deck specially made"

"Wow, thanks James" I spoke, the crowd started leaving now, and so I walked over to the D-wheel. "So how do I work this?"

"Let's get it home first, and then I'll tell you, alright?"

"Fine"

"Crowler, haven't you got something to do?" James asked him.

"Ah, yes, I have to tell Mr Kaiba about this, good bye" he then ran off, heading out of the park as fast as possible.

"What a weird guy" I commented, starting to move the D-wheel home.

* * *

So this is practically how it will work, if it's a new card I've made up, I'll put down the stats, ignoring effects of course.

Crowler might be the only Character from the series that I put in. the rest will be OC's with their own decks.

And please, tell me what you think of the New monsters so far.


	2. Dwheeling and two mates

Chapter 2:

A few more cards of my deck, not much but enough.

And I don't know the exact rules for riding duels, but I think I'll leave them out.

And sorry if I get some cards details wrong

Chapter 2:

D-wheeling and two mates.

I was excited when James took me out to an abandoned stadium to try out the D-wheel; I put the disk onto the wheel, the card holders splitting out to give me room. James pressed a few buttons, mapping a route for the D-wheel to go on.

"Right, I'll go along side in a spare wheel" he told me, pressing a button on his key and bringing out the machine. His was red with a single wheel instead of two. He put a white helmet on, getting on the seat. "We'll have a riding duel just to see how you take it"

"Okay then" I answer, getting my black helmet on. I sat on the bike, getting a feel for the controls. "Let's see, deck goes there" I take the deck out and place it on the deck holder on my arm, seeing the cards rapidly shuffle. "I hold these and it moves automatically"

"Easy enough isn't it." He got on and put in his deck, I wouldn't be surprised it was a simple enough deck.

I looked round the stadium, seeing no one inside at all…well, and then I see two familiar people walk in.

"Simon, Ryan?" I ask in surprise. Seeing them walk further down. "What are you two doing here?"

"We heard you beat Crowler" Simon told me. "And we figured you'd be wanting a test run so wanted to see it" he got out a Swiss roll and proceeded to eat it.

"Never thought I'd see you duelling anyway Craig" Ryan started, both proceeding to sit down. "I can't wait to see your new cards"

"Hey, get ready for a show" I told him, James pulling up along side. "Besides, I'll beat you both soon enough"

I saw a timer thing come up, like they used on 5D's, I saw the little red lights turn on.

"Activating Field spell, Speed world" James spoke, I saw the card appear on my screen, and then a purple mist of some sort descends around us.

"Riders, start you're Wheels" the machine spoke; I grabbed the handle for acceleration and waited, the red lights turning green. "Riding Duel, Acceleration!"

We both turned the handle quickly, accelerating around the track; the wind felt good blowing past me. I drew five cards, nearly losing one in the wind, I saw James do the same, looking at me, waiting for me to move.

"My turn, Draw" I grabbed the card, looking at it as I did so. It was Solemn wishes, in my hand I held Robbin' Goblin, Magic Thorn, Negate attack, Mercenary hero, Level 3 (1500, 1500) and Fire princess. "First, I place four face downs" I put the trap cards into the slot, seeing the cards appear on the screen. "Next I summon Fire Princess in attack mode!" I place the card up on the field, seeing flames dance around it. "Your move James"

The bikes take a corner; turning round like it was an ace rider behind the wheel. I saw Ryan and Simon still sitting down, enjoying the duel. I then look back at James.

"Took your time. I draw" he spoke, drawing a card and smiling as he did so. "I summon Goblin Attack force in attack mode" he places the card on the disk, the goblins rise out of the ground, running along side. I saw a little indicator point to them, showing me 2300 attack points. "Rule one; don't leave a weak monster in attack mode. Goblin Attack force, destroy Fire Princess!"

"Not so fast" I tell him, I can see his shock at this point. "I activate Negate attack" the card pops up, stopping his monster in its tracks. "This ends your battle phase"

"I should have expected that. I play a face down and end my turn" he looks on.

"I activate Solemn wishes, Robbin Goblin and Magic thorn" the three cards rise up around me, showing James all three of them. "Solemn wishes increase my life points by 500 every time I draw a card, Robbin Goblin takes a card off you every time you take damage, and Magic Thorn deals 500 points of damage every time you discard from your hand by means of magic or trap cards!"

He then looks at me, smiling as he realises the combo. I look at Simon and Ryan, seeing them sat down still, looking on in Awe as I take on a Kaiba corp. suit and get the first hit.

"My turn, Draw!" I shout, I grab the card, gaining 500 life points, and watching him take 500 points of damage as Fire Princess throws a ball at him. I watched as he discarded one of his cards and taking another 500 points of damage himself, I looked at the card, finding it was pot of greed. "I activate pot of greed to draw two cards" I draw the cards and the same thing as last time happens. I look at the cards, finding double summon and Blade Synchron "I summon Mercenary hero level 3 in attack mode" I place down the card, seeing a warrior appear with blue hair tied up so it spiked. He held a steel sword in his right hand and his left had plate armour over the top, he wore leather over the rest of his body, with a metal plate over his heart. He ran along side, holding the blade low. "I'll end my turn there"

"Nice move" he tells me, looking at his screen. "You should see your speed counters at the moment" I did, and saw the number had risen to four. "That number is used for some magic card effects, like this one!" he draws a card, smiling as he does so. "I play my own Durundal's Sacred Law!" he places the card down, I then see it rise up. "So now I discard a card in my hand so that I can bring my Dark Magician to the field!"

I watch as the monster appears, then disappears and reveals the spell caster, he span round as he starts floating in the air. I can guess what will happen next.

"Dark Magician, destroy Fire Princess!" he shouts, pointing at my fairy. "Dark magic attack!"

I watch as the Magician fires three green bolts out of his staff, hitting the mage with all three, shattering it. I watch as my life points decrease by 1000 and my speed counters drop by three, I slowed down behind him, gripping harder as the bike shuck. I knew I had my work cut out for me.

"Come on, Craig!" I hear Simon shout; I look over and see my friends standing up.

"Kick the shit out of him!" I hear Ryan shout…No need for the language but I got the hint. We sped by them, I put my thumb up to them.

"My Move" I put my hand on my deck, thinking about my cards. "I believe in you, I trust in you. Please, come through for me" I speak to the deck, I hear something just over the bike, but I can't quite make out what it is. "Draw!" I pull the card out, looking at it…Durandal's sacred Law, Yes.

"Alright, first off, I upgrade my Mercenary hero to level 5" (2000, 2000) the warrior get's more armour on him. "Next, I play Durundal's sacred law!" I shout, the card appearing next to me. I place Double summon in my jacket pocket and reach for Fire princess, placing it on the field. "And you know how it works"

"Yeah, like you've just done" James answers, looking back at me, I looked at his Goblins, seeing them in defence mode.

"Next, I summon Blade Synchron" I place the card down and see the squire appear next to me, the sword in hand. He then falls over, only just getting back up to catch up. "You okay?"

I swear I saw it nod, but it was most likely the holograms during its run. I think I'll ignore it, looking back at my monsters.

"Here comes the fun part" I speak, pointing to is two monsters. "I play Regeki to destroy your field monsters!"

"Not so fast, I play Shrink!" the card appears, he halves his Goblin Attack Force's points to keep it on the field, sacrificing his Dark Magician

"Thanks, now I tune my Blade Synchron with the Mercenary hero level 5" I watch as the Mercenary pulls the blade off the squire, going through the same process as before with Judge Man. "Fallen warriors lend their Strength. Become the vassal of war you were born to be"

A bright light fills the stadium, I'm guessing it could be seen miles out, I raised my hand to point to the sky, hoping for a dramatic entrance. "Darkblade the Holy, Come forth!" I shout, bringing my hand down to the ground. The blade spins round inside the light, the black armoured warrior running up to it, grabbing it out of the air, running along side me with his sword in front of him. I look at him, thankful that he was here.

"I expected you to play that" James comments, looking back at me and Darkblade. "Well, hurry up"

"Fire princess, destroy Goblin attack force with flaming barrage!" I shout, watching as the fairy fires a fireball upwards. It explodes into thousands of little fires, all landing on the Goblins, shattering them. "Go, Darkblade the Holy, attack him directly with Dark slash of the holy!"

I watch as my warrior spins his blade around, dashing towards James' D-wheel, he stopped spinning the blade and slammed it downwards, hitting the D-wheel with a lot of force. I watch as the bike stops, smoke enveloping from the machine. James grabs on as the bike shudders slowly to a stop and I pass it, smiling as I do.

"The faith that one puts into his cards is always returned in kind" I comment, stopping the bike and running over to my brother to make sure he was ok. He got up as if nothing had happened, grabbing his cards and looking through them.

"I never thought this test deck could lose so badly" he commented, taking the helmet off. "You've got skills, I can see that"

"It's not skill" I reply, smiling and showing him the card that finished him. "Just a hell of a lotta luck and trust in my cards" I looked at the card. Darkblade the Holy…Why did I have a feeling he would be saving me more then now?

I walked back to my D-wheel, getting my helmet on and remounting the bike, heading over to the crowd of two. They were applauding my victory, smiling as they saw my deck.

"That was awesome" Simon told me, holding out his fist.

"What ever happened to your old deck?" Ryan asked, doing the same.

"I never had a deck before this one" I answered, punching their fists and dismounting the bike, taking off my helmet and getting the duel disk out. "What about yours?"

"Still needs a bit of modding, but it's at home" he answered, showing me a Dark Magician card. "This is definitely going in"

"I was wondering what happened to that card" Simon commented, scratching his head.

"Well what ever happened to you deck?" I asked him, Ryan looking at him as well.

"Haven't got one" he replied, smiling. I thought this was strange as he was on about having a deck comprised of dragons and loyalty before. "Jack's on about getting me a deck together for the tournament coming up in a few months"

"I guess he's got enough to do that" Ryan continued…I remember that he was a card trader last time I saw him, and successful at that.

"I'm in that tournament as well" I told the pair.

"As am I" Ryan continued. I guess we would be fighting against each other then.

James walked over to us, his D-wheel at his side, holding a thin, see-through screen, pressing some tabs on the screen.

"Do you three want to know who the current champ is?" he asked us, still pressing buttons. We all nodded, looking at the screen. "Check this out"

He turned the screen round, showing us a video of a riding duel in an arena with sounds from the audience. On the top it showed the name 'Elaine Martia, the flame queen' with 3250 life points left. On the bottom was the name 'J.W' along with a crown and 200 life points. Elaine had a Flame Monarch out, while J.W had only an Aqua Synchron (3 stars, 500, 1500) on the field.

"Here comes the king's move" I heard the commentator speak, J.W wore white clothes all over him, with a gold helmet covering all of his face. His D-wheel was gold as well.

"My turn" J.W calmly spoke, his voice almost too deep to be possible. "Draw" he pulled the card out, lifting it high in the air. "I play Pot of Greed, to draw two cards" he pulled two cards from his deck, looking at them. "I play double Summon, to bring out my Beautiful Beast Trainer, which I bring out by sacrificing Swordsman from a Foreign Land"

I watch as I see a samurai appear, then crack to reveal a woman wielding a whip. I continued watching, seeing J.W smile as he puts his plan even further into motion. "I tune my Aqua Synchron with my Beautiful Beast Trainer" I watch the Aqua Synchron turn into the rings, the monster jumps into it, turning into stars.

"The king of the duel shall never lose, witness the engine of your demise!" he shouts. I watch as the bright light occurs and a warrior is in the light. "From the heavens themselves, I call forth Holy Avenger, wielder of the Darkblade!" (8 stars, 2800, 2600) I watch as I see a black blade falls, followed by what looks like an angel. It glides down to the blade, grabbing it in midair and flying along side J.W. "Next, I play Double strike, so that my Holy avenger may attack twice" I watch his angel speed up. "Go, Holy avenger, destroy her flame monarch with Dark Wrath of the Holy!"

The blade it held started glowing black, the angel flew towards the flame monarch, destroying it with a single slash. "And now for my Avenger's special effect, where it gains half the attack points of the monster destroyed by it in combat" I see the angel's attack go up to 4200, enough to win now. "Second assault!"

The angel rushes towards Elaine, striking her D-wheel directly. The smoke then pours out as she shudders to a stop as her life points run out, the king riding on past her. I was too busy looking at the angel to listen to the commentator. That card holds the 'Darkblade', but isn't my monster called Darkblade the Holy?

The king then appears on the screen, looking dead at the camera.

"This is not even my real deck" he taunts, throwing most of the cards away, keeping his Synchron and angel in hand. "There will be a tournament in a few months, the invites have already been sent out, so if you get one, read the instructions to receive your prize"

"Oh, king" the commentator says, walking over to him. "Will you be participating?"

"Why bother with the riff raff if you can take on the finest of the pack?" he asked, I watched him point at the screen. "One of the prizes is a duel with me; riding or standing doesn't bother me, but be prepared to lose…badly"

"Well, looks like we have a reason to go then" I say, seeing the other three look at me as if I was mad.

"What reason is that then?" Ryan asked.

"To beat this J.W at his own Game" I pulled Darkblade the Holy out of my Synchro deck, looking at it once again. "Besides, it's been dull lately; it'd be good practise"

Simon looked at Ryan, who returned his gaze, both thinking about it at the same time. I put Darkblade back into my Synchro deck, taking the duel disk off.

"I think I'll go home and check through my cards, seeing what plans I can make from this load" I told them, remounting the D-wheel and putting my helmet on. James got on his and we both rode home, the wind blowing by me again, I looked behind to see the guys, putting my thumb up at them.

I had another reason to enter…no one treats their cards like that…not even if they are rubbish…in fact no card is rubbish, but even if you think your deck is low class in competitive standards, you must respect them. I looked at my deck again, thinking what else might lie inside. I hoped the deck would be balanced, power with defence, but at least the power with enough to defend with in case it was needed.

So, you know who the real champion is, even with his cards. I think the deck I'm using is balanced and next chapter is a practise between me and Simon, so you'll get to see his deck.

I'm only going to put these spoilers for the first few chapters, once the tournament starts, I'll stop telling you the next duel. By the way, I know about the speed world rule about a non-speed spell rule, but I can't use up more pages in my book (It's already at 6 pages for 2.5 decks (Still waiting for the other two to give me their deck configuration))


	3. Trust and Loyalty of Dragons

Right, here's the duel between me and Simon. His deck is impressive to me, and, except for a few cards, is entirely made up…he does have quiet the imagination here.

And because of my own mistakes earlier, some cards will change some effects…call of the haunted for example doesn't take life points off you.

* * *

Chapter 3:

Trust and loyalty of dragons. Part one

The next few day's passed quietly, I spent most of my time getting used to the speed of the D-wheel…using it as transport to and from school. You wouldn't believe how jealous some of them became…others, well, best not to mention them, but let's just say the D-wheel doesn't work without my disk.

I rode by the school on the way home from Skegness; this was about three months into the six month time between the announcement and the tournament. James had gotten my helmet rigged up with a radio, so that I wasn't bored on the way there, even adding a little phone hands free equipment piece.

I was singing (Badly) along to Viva La Vida when it came on. I saw a little notification come up on my screen, saying I had a call, from another friend of mine…Jack.

"Answer" I told the machine, I then saw the symbol change to a timer and credit counter, both showing me what I needed to know. "Hey Jack, how's it going?"

"Quite well, actually" he answered, his voice sounding quite broken on the line. "Business is blooming and a little birdie told me you own a D-wheel"

"Ah, I see you heard about that" I told him, pulling over on a nice quiet country road so that I could take the call more comfortably. "It's true"

"And what about the Ocean Star cup?"

"The what?"

"The tournament"

"Oh, I'm entering, along with Simon and Ryan" I told him, looking round the countryside. "It's been quiet lately though, and Simon is still waiting for that deck you promised him" I looked along the country side, thinking of what Jack might have been doing. "How was America by the way?"

"It was amazing, you'd be surprised what merchandise they have" I heard him talk to someone else, something about some cards. "Listen, Craig, could you stop by? I think Simon is in one of those moods"

"And what kind of mood would that be?"

"Well, hungry, fighting for a reason, trust and so on"

I look at the sky, thinking that the invite should have gotten here by now. It would take a while to get ready for the matches, but at least I could travel easily, due to the bike. I had a thought about a practise duel…Jack did promise Simon a deck of trust dragons.

"Tell him I'm bringing some food for him" I told Jack, I could hear Simon in the back ground celebrating at the 'food for him' bit.

"Alright, see you at the shop then" Jack replied, ending the call, I leaned on my bike for a bit, thinking what to have on for the ride.

"Song listings" I spoke, speaking to the D-wheel helmet, James had told me he fitted an MP3 device. I saw a list of songs come up, looking through the list. "Play Hyperdrive followed by Melody"

I heard the song play on the helmet; it was the best song I could think of at the moment. I got back on my D-wheel, reactivating the Navigation systems and getting on.

"Where was his shop again?" I asked myself, the song up to 'going fast, makes me feel alive' "That was it, the prescient" I pressed a few buttons, putting in the address I wanted to go to, seeing a little sat nav map come up, pointing me in the right direction. I set off at full speed, staying below the speed limit on my way back in.

"What do you see in him?" I heard someone say, I looked around, seeing no one, the phone wasn't on either. I just ignored it and rode on, thinking it was a mental moment or a ghost in the machine…why did I just reference I-robot to myself?

Jack…He wasn't a dualist himself; he just supplied the cards for us. Sometimes when me, Ryan and Simon had an argument, he would get two decks and pass them out, one each. I'd readily admit, we weren't serious duellists, but it was a pastime we weren't going to give up easily. We had had hell of a lot of fun in the past battling each other, finding flaws in each others plans and helping each other overcome them a few changes. I was the more offensive of the group, filling my deck with mainly warriors when I could. Ryan stuck to mixing things up, keeping his plans flexible. Simon was one to rely on his monsters and improvise.

When I got to Jack's shop, I saw that it had been opened again. You know Grandpa's shop in Yugioh, it looked a lot like that except less colour. There weren't a lot of people around and I was sure Jack wouldn't mind, so I brought the D-wheel in with me. The door had the familiar ringing sound as I walked in, seeing a space in the centre of the room, Jack was at a desk, looking through some cards.

"Hey Jack" I started, he looked up and saw me bring in my bike. "You don't mind do you?"

"As long as you clean up after it" he replied, putting the cards into one deck. "Nice machine by the way"

"Thanks, now where is Simon?"

He pointed to a corner of the shop; I turned and saw Simon, cowering in the corner, as if he was scared of something.

"How long has he been like this?" I asked Jack.

"Since you mentioned food on the phone" he answered, putting the cards into a single deck and shuffling them up. He then looked over at my D-wheel, walking over to it. "Mind if I take a look?"

"Go ahead" I answered. I didn't tell him, but if it wasn't for his cards, I wouldn't be where I am today.

He sat on the bike, taking the duel disk off and passing it to me. I caught it and put it on, letting the system reset to accommodate my arm. I looked back at Simon, seeing him sniffing the air.

"Food" he spoke, as if a zombie. He got up slowly, doing a zombie walk. "Fooooooood"

"Here you go" I replied, getting three pieces of angel cake out of my pocket, passing them to him. He wolfed them down in one go.

"Thank you" he put his thumb up to me, smiling.

"No problem" I looked round the shop, seeing a few kids looking round the various cards. Ryan was the only one who stuck out, he was still putting his deck together. "So where's this deck you told me about?"

I hadn't noticed before, but he had a silver duel disk on his arm, with a deck inside. I presumed that he had gotten the deck; smiling as I realised Jack had pulled through for Simon.

"Nice, what cards do you have?" I enquired, looking at the place, watching Jack take the D-wheel through to the back.

"Why find out that way" Simon started, lifting up the disk. "When you can duel to find out?"

I looked at him, as if he was mental. Normally he would only fight for a reason, but I really couldn't be fussed. A duel is a duel, and I wanted to know what his new deck was.

"Jack, do you mind if we duel on the front?" I asked him, he looked at us and nodded.

"Go for it, I need to do some things in the back anyway" he told us, smiling.

"Hey we might even bring in a crowd" Simon told me, thinking of Jack's business.

We both walked outside, taking ten steps away from the door in opposite directions, and then stepping away from the building. The best place to do this was in the back, but we had to think of Jack in this case.

"Ready?" I asked, placing my deck in the disk. Watching it engage and activate.

"Set" Simon replied, engaging his own duel disk, some of the customers, and Ryan, followed us, wanting to watch this duel.

"Duel!" we both shouted, drawing five cards. I look at mine and see that I have gotten two giant soldiers of stone, Magic cylinder, scrap iron scarecrow and Mercenary Hero, Level 3. I looked at Simon, letting him have the first move.

"Alright, let's start" he puts his hand on his deck. "Draw" he pulls a card out, looking at it and smiling. "I'll start by placing Wingert trust Dragoneer in defence mode" (3, 1300, 1900) I watch as a man clad in steel armour rises, all over his armour are dragon insignias. He holds a shield in front of him. "Next I place two faces downs and end my turn" I see the two cards appear, wondering what they might be.

"Alright then, My move, Draw" I pull a card out of my deck, Pot of greed. "I play pot of greed to draw two more cards" I put the card in the grave and draw the two cards. Defender's might (basically Shield and Sword, but defence is added onto attack and attack is taken out of defence) and Double summon. "I play double summon, to bring out both of my giant soldiers of stone" I place the card in the graveyard, placing the two defenders on the field. They crouched down, protecting their chest. "I'll finish up by placing a face down and that's it" I placed Scrap Iron scarecrow down and cross my arms, wondering what Simon would do next.

"Alright, I'll start by playing Manual labourer in defence mode" (1, 100, 200) he starts, the poor guy looks as if he hasn't had a days rest in his whole life, his simple clothes ripped and several marks on his puny hammer. "That's the end of my turn"

I was surprised at this, why play such a weak card, my soldiers could beat them in one turn. I drew a card, thinking of that monster. I looked at what I had drawn and found Dunames Dark witch. Perfect.

"Right, first off I place the equip spell card, Defender's might" I play the card, the picture showing someone throwing a shield away and gripping a sword with two hands. "This lets me add the defence points of a monster onto their attack, and then takes the original attack points off their defence" I started to curse in my head as I realise I should have saved it for Gardna. "Dunames Dark witch, destroy Manual labourer. Blinding bolt flare!"

I watch as my witch destroys the Manuel labourer, Simon smiles as well…which I find unnerving.

"Thanks, whenever that guy is destroyed, you take 600 life points of damage" he tells me, pointing at me. I feel a bit of recoil as I take the damage. "Next I activate Pit Den and Peace" the two cards reveal themselves, peace showing two men shaking hands, Pit den a pit dug in the ground with an army running towards it. "Now I can destroy one monster in defence mode with Pit Den, so goodbye, Giant soldier of Stone" the monster shatters into several pieces, I put it in the graveyard. "And with Peace, your battle phase ends"

I groan as I realise I lost more then he did right now. Looking at the rest of my hand, I can't play anything for the rest of this turn.

"That's ends my turn then" I told him, getting into a relaxed pose with my arms crossed…I only just realise my jacket is billowing behind me.

"Draw" he pulls a card out, smiling. "I place one card face down, and sacrifice my dragoneer for my Legendary rider of Justice!" I watch as his monster disappears, replaced by a horse and rider in golden armour (5, 2000, 1200) his spear looks quite powerful. And I watch on as he swings it around. "Legendary rider, attack Dunames Dark witch with justice charge!"

"Not so fast, Go, Scrap Metal Scarecrow" the card flips up and the defensive cross appear. The rider charges his horse forward; attack my defence and bouncing off, running back to his position. My card flips back down and I'm safe.

"I'll end with a trap and that's it" I watch as he places a card face down on the field, thankful that his turn is over.

"I draw" I pull the card out, finding Blade Synchron, sweet. "I summon blade Synchron!" I place the card down, seeing the squire appear on the field. "Now I tune my Synchron with my witch!" I shout, seeing the squire walk over to my fairy, both smiling at ach other and starting off the process. "The spirits of the fallen lend their strength, become the vassal of war you were born to be"

The blinding Light comes forth again, everyone around us gasps as they look on…only Simon and Ryan know what's coming.

"Come forth, Darkblade the Holy!" I shout. The blade falls down again, Darkblade following along side…and was I pleased to see him. He swung the blade down and held it with two hands.

The crowd gasps as they look at Darkblade…same as I did first time I saw him, I looked through the sight to confirm his attack points, comparing them to the legendary rider. Darkblade could deal 2700 damage this turn due to his special ability…so why did I have the feeling I was walking into a trap?

"Oh well, Darkblade the holy, attack his Legendary rider with Dark Slash of the holy" I command, I see Simon smile, then I realise I was right.

"Reveal face down card!" he shouts, revealing a trap with an angel protecting an injured man. "Saviour Angel!" the crowd gasps as he says's this and I realise how big a trap I walked into. "Saviour angel destroys one attacking monster" I watch as Darkblade get's run through with a sword from an angel, cursing as I realise I've lost my strongest card.

"I end my turn" I moan, thankful I still have my stone soldier on the field, 3300 attack points is going to be hard to beat. I watch as Simon draws a card and smiles.

"Hey Craig" he starts. "You're not the only one with Synchrons" I come out of my pose, looking at him. "I summon Dragon Synchron!"

I watch as I see a little baby dragon appear. (3 star, 1500 800) then I think about what he could want it for.

"I tune my Dragon Synchron with my Legendary rider" he tells me, I watch as both of the cards fly upwards, going through the tuning bit. "Put your trust into the cards, and then you shall find your victory" the bright light fills the area and I shudder thinking of what it is.

"Synchro summon. Come forth, Life bond Dragon!" he shouts. I watch in horror as I see a humongous white dragon descend on the field, I brace for the gusts as it gets closer, as does everyone else. I see Jack come out of his shop to look at the dragon, seeing him smile.

"Everyone, brace yourselves!" I shout, crouching down and ready for the gusts. You'd be surprised how powerful the holograms are. My jacket nearly flies off as I stay down; even the crowd do the same, taking cover indoors.

I look at the dragon, seeing through my sight that it had 8 stars, 3400 attack points and 2600 defence points…More then enough to take down my soldier. This was going to be bad.

"My battles are about trust, but you fight for glory" Simon told me. I didn't really understand that as I always fought because I enjoyed duelling and sometimes because I was responding to a challenge. "Life Bond Dragon, destroy his Giant Soldier of Stone with Trusted blast attack!"

"Oh boy" I groaned, watching as the dragon charged up a golden blast of fire headed straight towards my soldier. "I activate scrap metal Scarecrow again!" I look at the trap, hoping it would activate, annoyingly it refused to move. "What in the…"

"Life bond Dragon negates all Traps affecting my side of the field" My friend told me…great, two trump cards gone.

I watched as the soldier was destroyed, the stones hitting me with enormous force. I held the duel disk in front of me in an attempt to block them and ducked to try and avoid them. Man it hurt, but that was the least of my worries. I was now down to 3200 life points…and I was sure that wasn't it.

"Are you sure this is the first duel you've had with this deck?" I asked him smiling, this was a good duel, and it was only just beginning. Time to bring out some of the other cards I found in the deck. He gestured to end his turn. "Very well, it's my move" I put my hand on my deck. "Draw!"

_And hopefully the chance to fight back_

* * *

So that's part of Simon's deck, a few of the cards are powerful, I'll admit, but he doesn't have too many magic or trap cards.

I think it was three episodes in Yugioh 5D's that Yusei brought out a new Synchro, next chapter is the second Synchro of my deck. And as a little spoiler, I have three and one synchron for each. (Imagine the havoc when all three are on the field)

and i might be having a new recruit to the ranks of 'heroes' just waiting till monday to find out if they want a part. hopefully i'll have a new deck configuration as well.


	4. Trust and Loyalty of dragons, part 2

First off, thanks rowan5255 for your input and story alert

bobmany2.0 and goldheaney for the favourite, and rowan5255 again.

If I've missed anyone out, I've recently cleared out my emails and will get back to you once I look it up.

Time to finish that duel.

* * *

Chapter 4

Trust and Loyalty of dragons. Part 2

Simon's field: Life Bond Dragon (8 stars, 3400 2700) 4000 life points

My field: Scrap Metal Scarecrow.

My hand: Magic Cylinder, mercenary hero level 3

My life points: 3300

"I draw!" I shout, pulling the card out of my deck. Sacred sword, Ragnarok. (A red blade flying down towards someone) perfect right now. "I play Sacred sword, Ragnarok!" I place the card in the spell zone, watching a giant red blade appear in my side of the field.

"What does it do?" Simon asked.

"It let's me destroy one monster on the field" I smile as I point to his dragon. "Say good bye to your dragon!" I watch the blade fly into the chest of the dragon, destroying it. I could see Simon look surprised as he loses the card. "Next I summon the mercenary hero level three" I place the card on the field, seeing him swing his sword around as he comes up. "Mercenary Hero, attack Simon directly" I watch as my hero slashes at Simon, dropping his life points by 1500 (2500)… you wouldn't believe how relieving it was to get a hit in. "Lastly I place a face down card and that's it" I place Magic Cylinder on the field, hoping he didn't have any more monsters like Life Bond Dragon.

"My move" he draws a card, looking at it and smiling. "I play Lifeless dragon!" he places the card down and we all watch as the remains of a dragon come up, half fossilized. (4, 1700, 1400). I hoped he would fall into my trap. "I attack your Mercenary Hero with my dragon, flash flare inferno!"

"Not so fast" I tell him, watching his dragon fire a blast of flame at my hero. "I activate Magic Cylinder" I watch as the card shows it self on the field, the two cylinders appearing on the field. "Now I redirect your attack at your life points"

I was glad when I saw the flame hit him, I watched as he recoiled from the blast, his life points dropping quickly. (800) something about this seemed awfully strange…maybe it was his smile. He held two cards in his hand, placing one face down.

"Your move" he told me.

"Thank you" I draw a card, finding call of the haunted, I watch as my mercenary goes up two levels to level 5. The wise move right now would be to bring back Darkblade, but I think I'll give him a rest for now, looking at Simon's dragon, I decide to save the card for now. "Mercenary hero, attack his Lifeless dragon with Heroic slash!"

I watch the mercenary throw his blade up in the air, jumping up after it and catching it in midair. He starts to fall, bringing the blade down upon the dragon.

"Go, Reproduction!" he shouts, revealing his face down. The card looks like someone getting cloned. My attack still goes through, reducing Simon's life points further. (500) "That trap let's me bring two of the destroyed monster to the field, in defence mode" I watch as the monsters return, their heads low.

"I'll end my turn there" I tell Simon, thinking about my next move. The mercenary hero would level up again, giving him 2500 attack and defence points, he just had to last the round.

"It's my move" Simon pts his hand on his deck, closing his eyes and drawing a card. I watch him open his eyes and look at it, then smiling. "Due to my lifeless dragon, I gain 100 Life points per draw" so he's up to 600, big deal. "Then I play the spell card, Mind riding!" I see the card rise, showing a person on a D-wheel riding looking at his deck and seeing what looks like Blue eyes white dragon. His life points increase again to 700 "Now I can draw three cards, and if any of them is a magic card, I can use it at double its effect"

I gasped, that was one powerful card if used at the right time. I hoped he didn't get anything good out of this. He drew the three cards, smiling as he saw them.

"Ok, now I play Sainted Return!" the card appears on the field, showing a bright light with someone coming down to earth. "Normally this would restore 2000 Life Points, but due to my spell, it restores 4000"

What! He just went up to 4700 life points from two cards! That is one hell of a deck so far. I thought about the other two cards, thinking something else was afoot.

"And I also can play Force dragon air!" he shows me the card, showing a clod shaped like a dragon. "This lets me attack you directly this round, so for two rounds. I can do that"

I gasped again, thinking it was way too powerful to be true. But it was true, and I was about to be hit.

"I swap my Lifeless dragons to attack mode, and both shall attack you directly!" he shouted, I watched as the dragons both breathed fire together.

"It saved me in the past, so go, Scrap Metal Scarecrow!" I yell, the cross coming out again and blocking one of the attacks, the other hitting me. (2600) I held my disk in front of my face, hoping to avoid being burnt. The heat that was made was…amazing. Once the flames stopped, I was thankful Simon ended his turn there, thinking that he could have done a lot more damage,

"Alright, this is it" I told myself, pulling a card out. I looked at it, seeing a new monster of mine. Bow Synchron (3 star, 800, 1000) it looked like a kid with long green hair using a crossbow. She looked around, almost scared. This would be perfect for my next Synchron. I watched my hero promote again, this time his sword turned gold and he grew a few inches, his bandana trailing even further behind him. (7, 2500, 2500)

"First off, I play Call of the Haunted" I tell Simon, playing the card. I could tell everyone thought I was bringing back Darkblade, but I wasn't. His effect wouldn't be helpful enough here. "I bring back my Dunames Dark witch!" I watch the fairy appear on the field, sighing as she thought of her defeat. "Don't worry, Dunames, you did the best you could"

Everyone looked at me as if I had gone mad…I couldn't blame then, not for leaving Darkblade in the graveyard. But they didn't see what was coming next.

"I summon Bow Synchron to the field" I told them, placing my new monster down and seeing him rise up. She looked around, eagerly awaiting her chance to fight.

"Craig, this is not strong enough to beat back those dragons" Ryan told me from the audience, everyone agreed with him, they still didn't see the plan.

"Who said anything about him? I'm giving a new warrior a spot on the battlefield" I calmly replied, seeing them wonder what I meant. "I tune my Bow Synchron with my Dunames Dark Witch!"

I watched my archer fire three arrows upwards, then disappearing. The arrows turned into those rings which flew around my Fairy.

"Fallen warriors lend their strength. Become the vassal of war you were born to be!" I shout, raising my hand up, a funnel of light starts from my witch. I raise my hand up, hoping for a good entrance.

"Synchro Summon, Silveneste, the archer of the wind" I watch as the archer falls onto the field, her hand on the ground s she lands and a green bladed bow in the other. She stands back up, showing off her green leather armour. (7 stars, 2400, 2000) I can see the people in the crowd watch in amazement as she holds her bow steady. I didn't notice before but more people who were passing by stop and watch the match. Simon is the most amazed.

"Wow, she is beautiful" I hear him say.

"Thanks, I think so too" I tell him. In all honesty I believe she is, shame she's a card. "Alright, I activate Silveneste's effect" I look at the crowd; they were all scratching their heads, wondering what I was on about. "I can choose one card which lies in the graveyard and if it's a Synchro, I can deal damage to you equal to it's attack points, if it's any other type, I recover life points equal to it's defence" I eject Darkblade from my graveyard, showing it to Simon. "I choose Darkblade the holy, and so you take 2700 life points of damage" I watch Simon recoil as he takes the damage. (2000) Shame I can only use that once per duel, but it is fair I suppose.

"Next I attack one of your dragons with the mercenary Hero. Lightning hero slash" I tell him, watching the hero rush over to his dragon, bringing it down in one slash. (1200) he comes back with a bit of blood on him, but not much. "And now Silveneste shall attack the other dragon with Gale force arrow!" I watch Silveneste notch an arrow onto her bow, aiming for a bit. Just before she fired, a strong wind picked up, following her aim. She fired the arrow, going right through the dragon. (600)

"That end's my turn" I tell Simon. I thought of this as the last turn in a hard duel, something told me Simon had some kind of turn around planed. He drew two cards, frowning at what he had.

"First, I play black hole!" he told me, I watched as my field was wiped clean, Silveneste and The Mercenary Hero shattering. I was annoyed when I put them in the graveyard. "And that is it"

I was expecting more, I'll admit it. But he might have bought himself enough time between now and my next monster to get a card to attack me. All I needed now was a monster with at least 600 attack points that I could summon straight away.

"My move" I told him, pulling a card out of my deck. I looked at it, finding just what I needed.

"I summon Prince of the fallen Kingdom level three!" I shouted, placing the monster on the field. I saw a blade appear through the ground, seeing the blue garbed warrior follow. (3, 1500, 1000) I could tell from Simon's face he knew what was coming next. "I think I win this one"

"I know" he replied, getting ready for the blade.

"Go Prince of the fallen kingdom, Attack Simon Directly with sword of faith!"

I watch as the warrior rushes towards Simon. When he is within reach, he slashes at him, dealing the damage I needed him to do. Simon groaned as the blade hit him, falling to the ground. I hold my hand in front of me, thinking I was extremely lucky.

"The trust you put in your deck is always returned in kind" I spoke, then running over to Simon to check he was alright.

The crowd started swarming me. I tried to force my way through but I couldn't. I looked over at Simon, seeing Jack and Ryan helping him up. I was relieved by that, still in disbelief Simon had that much skill…or was it because my deck was off balance. I didn't really know.

"Listen up, Ladies and Gents" someone shouted, his voice quite deep everyone fell silent as they heard this, looking at the origin of the voice. "I'm looking for a Craig, A duellist whose trademark card is Darkblade the holy"

Everyone parted at that, going their separate ways. I looked over where the voice originated from, seeing a postman of some kind. he walked over to me, handing me a letter of some sort

"Thanks" i tell him, grabing the mail and walking into Jack's shop, intent on finding out what was inside. i also wanted to check on Simon, as I was sure Silveneste did a lot of damage to him.

* * *

I'll be honest, after a second look at my deck, it is definitely off balance, with only 11 level 4 or lower monsters, the rest are either high level, magic or trap cards. Some high level tactics are in order…or I might just reconfigure the deck…nah, I'll go with high level tactics.

So that's the fist look at my second Synchron, and the end of my first two part duel, hope you enjoyed. I sure as hell did.

Check list.

Darkblade the holy and blade Synchron…done

Silveneste, the archer of the winds and bow Synchron…done

The third Synchron and the other few decks…needed


	5. who are they?

Back again, Rowan5255, I owe you my thanks. He has a brilliant story up at the moment, so does his friend Andrew coad.

Thanks for all the review, if I've left you out, remind me if you want.

And I've decided not to do too many riding duels, if you don't like it…sorry.

Now let's roll.

Slight disclaimer: Simon wants me to tell you he isn't fat. (Happy now Kidd)

* * *

Chapter 5:

Who are they?

I ran inside the shop, seeing my D-wheel set up at the door and Simon on the floor with Jack and Ryan fanning him. I looked on the counter, seeing a Swiss roll on it. I grabbed it and held it in front of his face.

"Food, Simon" I spoke, opening the wrapper. "Don't you want something to eat?", no response, then I noticed a tube of Pringles on the counter, doing the same. I watched his nose take a few sniffs. I pulled the food back, seeing his face follow them. Eventually I held my hand out in the way, his face colliding with my hand…that definitely woke him up.

"Son of a…" he spoke. We were all mildly amused until he jumped on me intent on getting the food.

"Simon I'm sorry. I only wanted to wake you up" I told him, fighting him off. "We got the invites!"

That was when he got off me, still grabbing the food and eating a bit of it. I got off the ground, pushing the dirt off my jacket. All three of them looked at me intently, like dogs looking at a bone. I pulled the envelop out of my pocket, looking at it intently. Jack snatched it out of my hand, opening it to end the suspense.

He pulled out three different cards, each one bearing a different picture. One bore a knight bowing before royalty, obviously getting a knighthood, the card itself coloured red. The second had a picture of a man holding opening a chest full of gold; again, the card itself was black. The third had a picture of a man split in half down the centre, on the right, a massive chest of gold, on the left, a dragon, coloured yellow.

Jack pulled out three letters after the cards, opening them and passing them to the addressed. I got mine, opening it out and starting to read it.

_Dear Craig_

_You have been chosen, by me, to take part in the Ocean star tournament. The card you want to take with you is the 'riches or glory'. I.e. the yellow one, I'll let you pick what you want, and the choice may seem obvious._

_J.W_

Well, that was odd, an invite from the Duel King himself…but how could he have heard of me so early on in my career. Oh well, I could see Simon and Ryan's faces light up after they finished reading.

"So what card do you two need?" I asked them, picking up the card I needed, looking at it more intently.

"I need the red card" Ryan told me, picking up the red card and looking at it. "Eternal glory…that's a step up from regional champ"

"And that leaves me the black card" Simon started, picking out the card. "I need the money for my girlfriend's heart transplant"

I guess we all had our reasons for joining the tournament; I was worried about Ryan, seeing as though he hadn't shown us his deck. I honestly hoped I didn't have to face these guys in the tournament in the early stages… the finals maybe but not early on. Jack looked between us, seeing that we all looked happy to be in.

"Well, I guess I'm moving shops for a bit then" he announced, we all looked at him, wondering what he meant. "The Ocean star tournament takes place in the south of America. These cards are your tickets…or so I've heard"

"What? So we're on holiday for a bit?" I asked.

"Yeah, I've got a nice little shop in... I think it's Smallsville…apparently there are a few underground complexes which look like Yugioh sets"

"We're going to Yugioh?" Ryan asked.

"That's the final, the first round is America, and the set is Satellite. Second is Hawaii with Duel academy and lastly its Neo-Domino city in Kyoto"

I looked between the group, seeing everyone smiling as they realised we would be globe trotting for a bit. I had never been to America, nor Kyoto or Hawaii so I couldn't wait. Who care's about this Duel King, if I face him, he will fall to Darkblade and Silveneste.

I looked outside, seeing three people in what looked like medieval clothing. Two of them I recognised from the park, the other wasn't so familiar. One of them mouthed something; oddly I knew what it was, like a voice in my head.

"If you want information, follow us" the green haired one spoke. They started walking away, my interest piqued since I had seen them in the park…along with this encounter and the fact their clothes made no sense these days, I decided to follow them.

"I'll be back in a bit" I told the guys, getting on my Wheel, setting everything up and putting the helmet on. I rode out of the shop, following the three. I could hear Jack behind me telling me to stop.

I rode through the town, seeing the three run. I was amazed at how fast they ran away as they saw me, going down a few back alleys to try and escape…I suppose I did look like a kidnapper, but all I wanted was answers. I took a sharp corner into an alley, seeing them run down the other end. A mobile symbol came up on my visor, showing Jack's name beneath it.

"Answer" I spoke, seeing that the microphone had heard me when the call started. "What is it Jack?"

"Where are you going Craig?" he asked me, I could hear Ryan and Simon in the background, hearing Ryan say something about Junk warrior.

"Those three outside the shop, two of them I saw in the park" I took another sharp turn, following them. They got into a car and drove off, heading out of town. "I want to know who they are and what they are doing here"

"How do you know they aren't Kaiba Corp. suits?"

"Would an employee of said company wear what looks like leather or steel as normal clothing?"

I heard him sigh on the other end of the phone line. I kept close to the car as it sped out of town.

"Craig, who are you on about?" he asked me, worry evident in his voice.

"Those three outside the shop just before I took off" I told him, I was getting slightly angry, watching the countryside fly by me.

"Who?"

"That one with long green hair and the other with black hair" I'll admit, they weren't very good descriptions, but they were all I saw.

"I didn't see anyone" I heard Simon say in the background.

"Neither did I" Ryan echoed, then saying something about Colossal warrior attacking. The pair was having a duel…And I was missing it in a search.

"Craig, I don't think anyone saw anything of the sort" Jack told me, more worry evident in his voice.

How was that possible? They stood in the middle of the street in clear view of everyone. I heard Jack ask around, but that was when I zoned out. If I was the only one who saw these guys, then was I going mad or were they just not seen. I took a sharp turn to keep pace with the car; looking at my power metre…I was in the red, Great.

"Jack, I'm going home for a bit, alright" I told him, he seemed surprised by this. "I'm nearly out of juice and I don't think they'll stop anytime soon"

"Shame, I just hope you took your card with you" he spoke. I reached into my jacket pocket, pulling out the card.

"Its right here" I put the card back, securing the pocket tightly. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow"

"Yeah, see ya round" Jack said, I could hear Simon moan as another one of his monsters was destroyed. The call ended there, followed by the annoying voice of the computer saying 'battery low, recharge quickly'

The bike's engine stopped, followed by me slowing down quite quickly, I punched the bike in annoyance as the car got away. Stranded in the middle of the countryside, I started pushing my bike home, annoyed that I couldn't have any music on as the helmet ran on the same power source.

* * *

So a short chapter with no duel. I had to have one somewhere alright, and I guess it did seem a bit sudden with me zooming after those three after only two sightings, but if you think about it, they disappeared the first time and has anyone ever spoken to you out of voice distance.

Ryan has gotten his deck config to me. It's a purely official deck with no made up cards. So chances are you know all the cards. I'll put in the details anyway, just in case we got anyone who doesn't know them, and J.W's deck is finished, so all four are done and ready to roll out. If I get any more, I'll let you know the name and how I know them. (Jack, Simon and Ryan are friends from school)

Next chapter is the pre tournament chapter, and I think it may be a little cheap, using the yugioh locations as the areas, but I would like to see them in real life. Ryan is the same and Simon…well, he doesn't watch the show but he plays the game…as does Jack.

By the way, Jack isn't a duellist, he just has the shops


	6. Goodbyes never easy

Right, before I start, I would like to thank Rowan5255 and OrangeSphere for the reviews, and Rowan and I have given each other permission to use the decks they use in their story. In short, I am putting Justin into my story, and I'm in his. Hopefully I won't mess up (I mean in this story putting him in).

And if I'm honest, the people I mention in this chapter, I hope they don't find this story, as I might have represented them wrongly…if you are on here, sorry if I am wrong.

And if you want to be in the story, send me a deck configuration along with a name and personality and I'll see what I can do, I may ask for what you'd do in some situations, e.g. what you'd say.

* * *

Chapter 6: Goodbyes…never easy.

It's a weird feeling, knowing your going to your first ever tournament in a foreign country. Over the three months that passed, I had a few practise duels with Simon and Ryan…heck even James helped but his deck didn't take a lot to defeat. I got some stuff together for the journey… namely my leather jackets, my jeans, my dark clothing and gloves.

I sat down on my bed, thinking about the duels that lay ahead. Questions like 'am I ready?' and 'could I actually win?' shot through my head. I leaned back and sprawled on my bed, wondering how long I would last in the tourney…then thinking that if I didn't win then I wouldn't get anything for it.

I got back up, looking round my room again. I was wondering where I had put my ring, my bracelets and necklace. The stones on my bracelets had always filled me with confidence, as had the dragon head ring. The Pentagram, well, that was just my preferred thing to wear.

Last thing I grabbed before I left was my deck; I picked it up and looked through it, seeing the cards that I would have to put my trust in.

"Please help me in the battles that lay ahead" I begged them, I felt strange begging cards for aid but I had nothing else to ask and I hoped they would answer.

I put the cards into a silver deck box that Mum had bought me. It had a black sword on, which made me laugh a bit first time I saw it as she thought it was fitting as a 'dark blade'. I will always keep it on me.

James had gotten me a little present of his own. He had gotten me a new mobile so that I could keep in touch. He used some connections at Kaiba corp. so that I could call everyone free of charge. It was basically a Motorola Razor except for it being thinner.

I walked out of the house with a single strapped red bag over my shoulder and a suitcase in my hand, both filled with everything I would need from currency to passports. Mum and James waiting on the end of the Drive, standing next to my D-wheel. I walked up to them, looking them in the eye.

"I guess this is the last time I'll see you for a while" I told them, looking between them.

"Seems so" James replied, keeping his eyes to the ground, he wasn't in his suit this time. He was wearing a brown hoody with jeans and looked quite unkempt. I looked at Mum, thinking of the next time I would see her would be after the tourney.

"I'll be back in one piece" I told her, hugging and kissing her.

"You better be" she replied, looking quite proud that I was in this in the first place. "Just give it your best, that's all we can ask"

I put my thumb up, smiling as I did so. I always did my best, no matter what it was. James got into his car, which was a simple white Estate car, quite large for what it was worth. He told me the day before that he would pick up Ryan, Simon and Jack from school, after we had been registered. I didn't see the point of that as we would just be going straight to the docks in Blackpool.

I put my bag on my back, getting the strap set up across my chest, and then putting my suitcase in the back of the car. I put my helmet on and turned on the system. I heard the engine roar as I turned the throttle, going through the song list on my helmet. I had managed to add a few more songs before now, but not much, just enough to keep me entertained.

I looked at Mum as James set up his car, smiling and putting my thumb up to her.

"I'll be back, and I'll make sure to bring something back for you" I told her. She smiled and waved back. James got his engine going and headed out of the drive, going along the roads towards school. I followed close behind, 'Memories' playing in my helmet.

It was quite an odd feeling, riding through the countryside towards school when you know you won't be there long. I thought about what the guys might say…well, the ones I got along with anyway. Nothing much, mainly good lucks and have fun, nothing too fancy.

On the way to the school, the roads seemed…quiet, as if they were letting us go through without any trouble. The students that would normally stand at the bus stops were not visible, either they had been picked up or they weren't going. I didn't normally pay attention, but this time…when I wouldn't see them again for about three months, I paid attention to the little things.

When we got to school, everything was quiet. Well, it was 8:40 AM, every one should be in registration, seeing us out of uniform and relaxing until 9:00 AM, when we would start moving. James found an open space in front of the school, I parked the D-wheel up near the mopeds and motorbikes, getting the Duel disk off so that the bike was pretty much safe, putting it on my arm and letting it reset.

I took my helmet off, putting it in my bag. I got off the bike and looked round the school, seeing everyone pretty much in their forms, listening to their form tutors. I walked in to the main entrance, looking round and seeing nothing much. I would often hear a 'yes miss' or 'yes sir' from one of the classrooms.

I walked up the stairs to room 14, my form room. It seemed odd to think I was leaving so soon to go to a tournament. I was excited, but I didn't want to leave this place behind. I looked into the room before entering, seeing everyone inside as normal. They were chatting away, some of the topics I could make out were 'how'd you get a D in sport science?' and 'my life is cursed', even 'when is Craig going to get here?

I grabbed the handle of the door, opening it slowly. I looked across the, rather large, room and saw my tutor, Miss Cassidy, looking at her register. I'll readily admit she wasn't much of a looker, but she was one of the most caring teachers…no, caring people you could meet.

"Sorry I'm late Miss!" I shouted across to her. Everyone looked at me as I said this, as if I had said something wrong.

"Don't worry Craig" Miss replied, smiling as she marked me in. "Your not late anyway"

I looked around the class, seeing everyone had gotten back to talking. I tried to find Simon but couldn't...Ryan was in a different form, as was Jack, so I was sure they'd be alright.

"Oh, Craig" Miss said, I walked over to the teacher, wondering what she wanted. "Is today the day you set off?"

"It certainly is" I replied, smiling. Lucy, a nice girl with black hair who I did get along with, Georgia, another girl with quite nice blond hair, and Ryan, the class footballer and ginger haired friend to everyone, all heard this. I guessed by the look on their faces they knew what was going on.

"How far do you think you will get Craig?" Lucy asked. I had to think about the answer to this question, because, if I was honest, I didn't think very far.

"I'll win it" I told her, faking confidence. "And I'll make sure to give it my all"

"So how long is this thing?" Georgia enquired. Again, I had to think before answering.

"I think it was 3 months in all" I answered, scratching my head. "A month in America, then a month in Hawaii then a month in Japan"

"Good luck pal" Ryan told me, holding out his fist.

"Thanks" I punched his fist in respect, then looking round. "Anyone seen Simon?"

"Oh, that reminds me" Miss interjected, getting a piece of paper out of her register and passing it to me. "This came into this form this morning"

I grabbed it out of her hand, reading what was on it.

_To form tutors of the following pupils_

_Craig Appleby_

_Simon Kidd_

_Ryan Watson_

_Jack Wilkes_

_Please send them to room 2 for a small meeting between me and them._

_Miss J. Kirk._

What does Miss Kirk (Year 11 head of year, me, Jack and Simon in that category. Ryan's history teacher) want with us? I passed it back to Miss, looking round the classroom.

"I guess this is the last time I will see you for a while" I told them, looking at the rest of the class. They all fell silent when I said this; I thought it was a mark of respect. "Well, I better get going. See you when I get back guys"

I walked out of the classroom, everyone looking at me as I did so. I opened the door and walked through, thinking that next time I see them the year would be almost over. That really did stick in my head. But either way, I walked back down the stairs to room 2, which wasn't that far away from this one…in fact just down the hallway.

I looked into the room, thinking that normally it would be full of MJ (Mr Jackson) students. This time was the exception, as only Miss Kirk, Simon, Ryan and Jack were inside. I opened the door, looking at my friends clothing. Simon wore a dark blue shirt with black trousers and a white hat, along with a simple grey bag on his back.

Ryan was wearing a green shirt with blue trousers; his bag was a simple black bag…that looks a lot like his school bag. Jack, on the other hand, wore a white shirt, black jeans and black shoes. Miss Kirk looked at me as I entered; making sure the door was closed before starting.

"Right, you three are in an international tournament" she said to Simon, Ryan and I. we all nodded, answering an unasked question. "Jack, you're going because you want to help these three, right?"

"Yes Miss" he replied, standing next to me. "These three can be champions, they just need a hand"

Miss looked at us, thinking of whether to let us go or not. She then nodded…obviously she would let us go.

"Just make sure you come back in one piece" she told us. "We don't want to lose students such as you to card games"

"Miss, I don't think a card game could hurt us" I told her, sceptically.

The bell went for first lesson; everyone started walking to their rooms, hoping to learn something new. I looked at the clock…8:50. 10 minutes left before we have to go. We sat in silence, watching the school walk by. Miss should be teaching history right now, but no one was in the room.

"Can you four come with me?" she asked us, heading for the door. We all followed her, walking through the eerily calm corridors towards the main hall. I looked into each of the classrooms as we walked by, seeing no one inside…weird, lessons should be started by now. I looked at the other three, seeing that they were thinking the same thing.

Miss took us outside to James' car, walking over to it. All four of us followed, seeing James on his mobile. He closed it, ending the call, and turned to us.

"Hey Miss" he said, looking her straight in the face. "Shouldn't lessons have started by now?"

"There's an assembly on at the moment, so no one is about" she answered, looking between the four of us. "Just get these guys to their matches"

"Will do"

I watched as James got into the car again, motioning the others to follow. They did so, me staying out with Miss while getting my helmet on.

"Miss" I started, looking at my head of year. "Can you tell the guys to try and keep in touch?"

"Will do" she answered, smiling. "Besides, the matches you play get televised, so we can watch your progress"

"We're on TV?" I ask, seeing her nod. "Wow, I never thought we'd get that much from this one tourney"

As I said that, Mr Walls, the headmaster of the school, walked out, wearing his usual formal clothes. He walked over to us. I could tell he was going to start a conversation of some kind.

"Craig, how are you today?" he asked, smiling.

"Not bad sir" I answered, looking at him. "I've been worse to be honest"

"It's that tournament today isn't it?"

"A ferry from Blackpool, which I get on today"

"I hope you keep up with the work being done"

"I will do"

"If you want, we could get the school together for your matches and watch them"

I smiled as he said this; support from home was always useful, and if the school was cheering me on, then I couldn't really fail.

"That would be brilliant sir" I answered, smiling a lot more. James, rudely, used the horn on his car to tell me to get my backside in gear. "Oh god he's right, we've got to be off or we'll miss the Ferry"

I ran off to my D-wheel, putting the Disk back in place so that I could start it up. I rode over to the teachers when it was started, stopping in front of them.

"Thank you for my school life, and see you in 3 months" I told them…part of me didn't agree with that sentence, I didn't want to go at all; I couldn't leave this life behind. But I also did want to go, as it would be a lot of fun, and I did have my friends to help me along the way.

I guess…I didn't know what to do, three months is a long time to be away from home, and I had only been away from home, max, a week without Mum. Mr Walls looked at me, sensing my unease.

"Relax Craig" he spoke, I looked at him, listening to what he had to say. "The school will still be here when you get back. You'll just have to catch up on the work that has gone by"

"Thanks sir" I answered, feeling slightly better. James turned his engine on, waiting for me to start. "I'll see you in three months; you'll see me whenever I start"

"Good luck" Miss told me; I smiled and put my thumb up.

"I'll make sure to bring back a trophy" I told her. I watched James start rolling, Simon Jack and Ryan looking at me. "So long" I told the teachers, starting up my D-wheel and going after him.

I didn't know what it was, but something was telling me to back out for my own good. I didn't follow it as I knew I couldn't get hurt by a simple card game.

* * *

So, there you go, another chapter done. I'm off for a week so if I don't get back to you, sorry.

When I get back, I'll hopefully have the next chapter to this, so will upload quickly if I can. If I take a while, then I'm most likely doing other things.

Next chapter, as a slight spoiler, is the arrival in the American site. I'll bring in Justin then and might have a duel as well.


	7. Mysterious reports, fun duel

Long chapter warning

I really have to mark somewhere what cards I've used and what I have left.

I'm taking Mirror force out of the deck, it's for one of my made up cards, and you'll know when you see it. (I'll put it in when we get to that bridge) and Also Quick summon is going, to be replaced by another of my made up cards

Now normally I don't think you would do a duel like it's been done in here.

And, please, read Rowan5255's stories, YuGiOh! RL season 1: the tournament and 2: the fusion of two, if not for me, for Justin

* * *

Chapter 7: Mysterious reports, fun duel

The trip on the ferry took about 2 days. The trip was actually quite enjoyable, and we all made fools of ourselves during Karaoke. (I'll admit to ruining Sleeping with the lights on, but I don't think you'll want to know what the other two murdered) after that, James and I did two days, solid, of driving/riding through America through the American countryside, starting off from the east coast (I think the town we docked in was called Boston, I'm not one hundred percent on that)

The weather compared to England was great, a lot more sun, a lot less clouds and everything great. The roads were great, no traffic, and even when there was we could just go around them. I set the D-wheel up to follow James's car, which was quite easy actually, I just laid back on the bike and let the wind relax me, the barren landscape around me was quite entertaining.

I wish that was true, but I had a call from Simon as I got comfortable. I stayed in my relaxed position, answering the call.

"What's up, Kidd?" I asked him, answering the phone.

"James wants you to turn channel 23 on in your helmet" he replied

"Channel 23?"

"Duel central" I heard James say on the other end of the phone.

"Apparently a Bio of J.W is being shown" I heard Jack say.

"Thanks" I told him, finishing the call.

Channel 23…I never knew James put TV in this helmet thing. I flicked through the menu, finding TV in the options, accessing it and finding Channel 23 was the only thing in there. I opened it, seeing a loading screen and waiting.

Once it had finished loading, it showed a massive picture of J.W along with his angel. I heard someone in the background…

"J.W has been in the professional circuit for 2 years" it was a woman's voice who explained it. "He came from an obscure past with his trademark white clothes and gold helmet. No one has seen his face and all we can think of in explanation is he is brutally scared" I kinda laughed as she said this, as this would just make it look better for him.

"His deck includes monsters under the angel theme, which really only explains a third of his deck. The other two thirds haven't been seen in any of his. His illustrious career includes the defeat of Dark Warrior Duke of America, who had reigned as king for 10 years, holding his title against Light Bound Trevor of Canada, Defending himself from Magician Huak Dae Moon of South Korea, fighting off the physical assault and duel against Sharman Shimao Kong of China and extinguishing the hopes of Flame Queen Elaine Martia of South Africa"

"Apparently, the Angel winged J.W has invited a brand new duellist to this months 'Ocean Star' cup, if he has done that, then he must see potential in this challenger, and we must find out who he is for the 'in depth report' tomorrow night"

"And in other Yugioh related news, Craig Appleby, The black knight of duelling, (It showed a picture of me with my hand commanding an attack, Darkblade and Silveneste behind me) Simon Kidd, the Trust and honour champion (The picture changed to Simon with his Life bond Dragon and Legendary rider of justice), and Ryan Watson, Regional champion of the Lincolnshire area of England and fighter for glory (It then showed Ryan with a few Synchro monsters behind him, namely Junk warrior and Colossal fighter), are apparently in America and heading towards the Ocean Star cup. Maybe one of these three is the chosen duellist J.W invited, either way we shall try to get an interview"

I laughed a bit more after this, thinking that I had gotten quite a bit of fame in 6 months. 'The black knight of duelling'…yeah, that's quite a good name actually seeing as though my deck is mainly warriors. Simon's 'trust and honour champion' was a good name, seeing as though he puts his trust in the cards to get him through anything. Ryan…well, he did have a bad name, I'll admit, but it did suit him, he did want glory after all.

"After 2 months of searching, it appears that young Micelle Tiemaill of Russia has vanished, police searched all over the world for this young prodigy with no success" I pricked my ears up as I heard this. "Her last known location was the 'Duel academy' set in Hawaii. Local police forces have told us that 'her disk went dead around 5:30 PM in the Obelisk Blue Dorm; we believe that it may have been damaged in the incident and suspect kidnapping…however the disk still remains unfound'"

I turned the TV off, refocusing on the road, I chose to ring up Simon again, going through the list and showing it as active. As soon as I started connecting, he answered.

"Did you hear the bit after J.W?" I asked him, meaning Micelle.

"Yeah, I can't believe we're already famous" he told me, I could hear cheers in the car.

"No, not that bit" they silenced after that. "The bit about Micelle"

"Who?"

Great, they obviously turned the TV off after seeing about us being famous…well it was something to be proud of in six months, I'll grant them that. I told them the story about the kid going missing; they didn't interrupt me as I told them. I wouldn't be surprised they were worried as well, a fellow duellist around our age…it could have been any of us.

"I hope she is ok" I told them, listening to them talk a bit about it.

"One of the things that is bugging me" James started; I listened intently as he spoke. "If the disk was damaged, surely she would have taken it in for repairs"

"I think I can see where this is going" Jack said.

"If this is going to lead to a massive cliché then I'll duel Craig" I heard Ryan say…if he did I'd enjoy it.

"Actually for once, no" James told him…I think we were all expecting him to say something like 'shadow games' or 'duels were you wager your soul' or even 'psychic duels were injuries are common' "There have been reports lately about champion bound duellists having to fight off attacks from mysterious opponents. If they lose, they are out the tournament, if they win…well, no one knows as no one has won"

"I guess we will be the first to find out" I told them, confidently. "We have trust, faith, strength and friendship to beat whoever it is that is doing this"

I heard the guys going 'yeah' after I said that, giving each other high fives. I didn't mind missing out, just enjoying the moment, I pulled out my extra deck, looking at Darkblade and Silveneste…I had a third card that I had yet to bring out onto the field, Lightblade the Chaotic (6, 2400, 2100) it was basically Darkblade's opposite with a black sword and silver shield along with golden armour, his hair was black.

"Hey James" I started, keeping the call going. "Did you bring your D-wheel along?"

"No, sorry" he answered, this did kinda annoy me as I wanted to give Ryan a quick duel.

"Why not just duel me using a normal duel where I'm in the boot and you're on the bike?" Ryan told me. It was a smart idea, if not a tad risky.

"May as well do, just get the boot open and we'll get started"

The call ended there. I watched Ryan climb over to the boot and lift it up, his duel disk active. Simon and Jack went alongside, strapping things down. I pulled my disk off the D-wheel, making sure that it would keep moving. I pulled it onto my arm, letting it engage before putting the deck in.

"Let's go" I told Ryan, watching him smile. We both drew five cards, looking at what we had. I had drawn Scrap Iron Scarecrow, Pot of Greed, Dunames dark witch, Magic thorn and Robbin' goblin. A brilliant hand in my opinion, I looked at Ryan, seeing him smile as well. This ought to be a good duel.

"I'll start things off" Ryan told me, drawing a card. He smiled even more as he looked at it. "I'll place two face downs…" he started, putting down the cards in question. "Then I place a monster in defence mode and end my turn" I watched the card appear on the field, thinking that maybe it was a trap of some kind.

"My move then" I drew a card, looking at it, Harpies feather duster, perfect. "I play Harpies feather duster, to remove all traps and spells on your side of the field" I watched as I activated the card, watching a tornado with feathers flying out of it, hitting the two cards and shattering into a million pieces. We both put the cards into the graveyard; I smiled as I thought of a plan. "I continue with pot of greed, to draw two cards"

I put the spell into the grave, pulling two cards out of my deck. Chaos Synchron (2, 400, 1300, it looks like a soldier of some sort.) and Prince of the fallen Kingdom level 3. I looked at the field and my hand, thinking about his face down monster. "I place down 3 face downs" I told him, putting down Magic thorn, Robbin' Goblin and Scrap Iron Scarecrow. "Then I summon Prince of the fallen Kingdom Level 3!"

I put the warrior onto the field, watching the blue garbed warrior rise with his iron sword in one hand. He looked upset….well, I guess I would be if I was a prince and my kingdom fell.

"I'll end my turn there" I told him, I thought about the fact that my monster would promote and my traps would be extremely effective. I watched Ryan draw another Card, Jack and Simon looking at the duel…just imagine what would happen if James went over a speed bump.

"I flip summon my monster, Axe raider!" he told me, I watched as I saw the monster appear on the field as he swung his axe round. "And I Summon Water Spirit in defence mode!" I watched the creature appear on the field, creating a body of water between me and it. "Go, Axe raider destroy the prince with mad Axe swing"

"Not so fast, go scrap metal scarecrow!" The card rises as the metal cross appears in front of the prince, the axe bounces off the iron, the owner falling back to repair it. I could see Ryan grunt as he knows he's done nothing.

"I'll place two face downs and end my turn there".

_Update_

_Ryan: Axe raider, water spirit, two face downs_

_Craig: Prince of the fallen Kingdom, level 3, scrap iron scarecrow (face down), Magic thorn and Robbin' Goblin_

I draw a card, starting off my turn.

"First off, after I draw, my prince promotes to level 5" I tell Ryan, watching my prince age and his sword get longer. (5, 2000, 1000) his blue hair gets a small diadem of some sort. I look at the card, finding double summon, perfect for this moment in time.

"Go, double summon!" I shout, placing the card on the field. "Now I can summon Dunames Dark witch and my Chaos Synchron to the field!" I place the cards down in attack mode, watching as the fairy flies alongside me. The soldier ran alongside, his red armour shining in the light. "And with that, I can activate Magic Thorn and Robbin' Goblin"

The cards flip up, and a goblin and thorn shoot out of them. The goblin jumped over to Ryan, standing in front of him. The thorn wrapped round his duel disk, getting ready to deal its damage. I didn't bother explaining how it worked, he already knew.

"And next, I'm going to tune Chaos synchron to my Dunames Dark witch!" I shout. The soldier jumps in front of the fairy, an arrow appearing from nowhere, hitting him in the chest. He falls to the 'ground' (Somehow floating along side the monster) the fairy kneels next to him, starting to use some of her magic on him. He turns into the rings, floating above the witch, the fairy flying into them.

"Redemption is a widely sought after thing, find your salvation on this field of battle!" I shout, the rings alongside me getting shot full of light. "Come forth, Lightblade the Chaotic!" the golden armoured warrior appears next to me, spinning around in the air and landing safely. He does look quite angry. I look at it in a bit more detail, seeing the armour marked a hell of a lot, it has symbols on the arms and legs. I looked at his eyes, seeing them coloured red. His hair was jet black, and his silver shield glistened in the sun

"Right, Lightblade, destroy Axe Raider!" I shout, my warrior running up to the axmen. "Secular Sword of Light!"

"Not so Fast, go face down card!" Ryan shouts, pointing to the face down, nothing happens. He looks surprised, so I think an explanation is in order.

"Lightblade is immune to unfriendly spells and traps that affect only one monster" I explain, looking at him. "So he can only be destroyed by traps like mirror force and spells like black hole, or in combat"

Lightblade makes some energy flow into his blade, making it glow a red colour. He slashes at Axe raider, shattering him into thousands of shards. Ryan's life points decrease by 700 to 3300, the goblin removes a card and puts it in the grave, and the thorn deals 500 more points of damage to 2800. "And I'll end it there, as I know that's a trap"

I can see his face; it's the face of panic, the face of worry. 2nd round and he was already on the back foot. He drew a card, smiling as he saw it.

"I play Double summon" he tell me, placing the card in the respective zone. "Now I bring out Speed warrior and Junk Synchron!"

I watch as the two monsters appear, the blue, speedy warrior and the junk covered machine. I had a feeling I knew what was coming.

"Now I tune the two together Junk Synchron and Speed Warrior!" I watched as Junk Synchron pulled a starter of some sort, engaging an engine in the junk. He turned into three rings, Speed warrior jumping into the middle of them. "Tides of trust and friendship rule fate. Defend the lives of your friends and comrades!"

A bright light emanates from the rings; I cover my eyes as it almost blinds me. Simon and Jack watch, smiling as they see the new monster.

"Synchro Summon!" he shouts, raising his hand up. "Junk Warrior, come forth!"

The warrior spins out of the light, floating over to Ryan's side. I only just noticed that my monsters are moving as if it were a riding duel; his acting like it was a normal duel. I looked at him as he thought about his next move.

"I'll leave it there" he told me, scratching his head. His warrior normally had 2600, but gain 400 more due to water spirit being lower then 3 stars, so 3000. I smiled as he did so…and I needed a good card right now and I wouldn't be surprised that he had a good trump card up his sleeve. You don't get to be regional champ without some kind of skill. I drew a card, watching my prince level up to 7. (7, 2500, 1000). His sword got a lot more…fancy and he got a long cape, revealing fine blue armour.

"You've got something planned, I know it" I told Ryan, looking at the card I had drawn. Magician of Faith, my favourite card in these situations.

"All I can do is place a face down monster and attack water spirit with Lightblade" I told him, placing down the monster that could win the duel. I needed pot of greed back. I watch as Lightblade slashes at the watery shield, destroying the monster and bringing Junk warrior back down to 2600.

Ryan laughed, drawing a card. He smiled as he looked at it.

"Should be familiar to most people" he started, holding a card up. "Go, Dark blade!"

"Not another one!" I moaned, watching him normal summon the monster. It basically wore a lot of black, spiked armour, swinging it's two blades around, but it did look dark. James took a corner on the road, me and Ryan getting ready for it. Jack and Simon kneeled down, hoping to keep still.

"Dark blade, attack his face down" he commanded his monster. I watched as he went for the Magician, smiling as I didn't activate the trap.

"Sorry, Magician" I spoke, looking back at Ryan's confused face "I can get a magic card from my grave back in my hand thanks to her sacrifice" I reached at the graveyard slot, Pot of Greed coming back. "And I only have two, so I'll bring back Pot of Greed"

"I'll…end my turn" he looked annoyed and frustrated as he realised I still held the upper hand.

I drew a card to start off my turn, looking at it and smiling. United we stand, enough right now to beat Junk warrior, but I made a decision. I would honour my mage's sacrifice and play Pot of Greed.

"I play my spell in order to draw two cards" I told him, putting the card into the grave and drawing the two cards I needed. One was Blade Synchron and the other Graceful Charity. "I play Graceful charity, so I can draw three cards as long as I discard two"

I put the card in the grave, drawing three cards from my deck. I looked at the cards, finding Monster Reborn, Judge Man and Magic Cylinder. I put the latter two of the three into the grave, looking at Ryan.

"I summon Blade Synchron!" I shouted, placing the squire on the field. He appeared next to me, running along the ground, this time sword in hand. He still fell over. "You okay buddy?"

What the…did he just nod again? Must be a glitch. I looked at Ryan again, thinking about how to say my next move. "Now I activate Monster reborn!" I shout, placing the card on the field. "Now I can bring back the Judge Man I discarded" I held my hand out, seeing the proud warrior appear next to me, running along the ground.

I think Ryan knew what was coming, the amount of times I had done the move in the past. It was just about 100% obvious. "I tune Blade Synchron to Judge Man, to bring out Darkblade the holy!"

The Squire smiled at the Judge, putting his thumb up and running over to him. The judge returned the smile, holding out his hand to the young knight-to-be. The squire held the judge's hand, turning into the rings and the judge jumping into them.

"The spirits of the fallen lend their strength. Become the vassal of war you were born to be!" I shout, the bright funnel of light going by me, the bus behind me was just in sight. "Synchro summon, come forth, Darkblade the Holy!" I yell, looking up and seeing the spinning blade again. No sign of Darkblade.

The blade falls, Lightblade catching it in his hand, he compared the two blades before putting his own away. The warrior I was waiting for ran up along side me, poking Lightblade on the shoulder. Lightblade looked at him, a cheeky smile on his face, passing the blade to its owner. Darkblade took it and held it with pride, passing Lightblade the occasional angry look.

"And now I activate United we stand!" I continue, placing the card in the spell and trap card zone. It flipped up, showing the clutched hands. "I equip it to Lightblade, increasing his attack and defence by 800 for every face up monster on my side of the field!"

So to make sure I've got this right, he started off with 2400 attack points, Darkblade being here puts it up to 3200 and the prince puts it up to 4000…easy win.

"Go, Lightblade, destroy Junk Warrior with Secular slash of Light!" I shout. I watch as Lightblade looks at Darkblade, jumping up onto him and using him as a footstool to jump higher. The Prince did the same. (Darkblade falling to the ground, picking himself up) When they both reached as high as they could go, the prince put his hands under the warrior's foot, pushing him further up.

Lightblade swung his sword down at just the right moment to obliterate Junk warrior, shards flying everywhere. I watched with joy as he lost 1400 life points. The goblin took a card out of his hand, putting it into the graveyard; he lost an extra 500 points due to this. (900)

"And now, Prince of the fallen kingdom, attack Dark blade with Royal Falchion strike!" I continue, my jacket billowing behind me. I knew he would set off the trap, but I had no choice. I watched as he charged towards the armour creature, getting ready to slash at it.

"Go, Sakuretsu armour!" he shouts, revealing his face down…finally. "One attacking monster is destroyed.

Dark blade's armour gets a few long sharp spikes on it, which the prince impales himself on. He looks at me, a frown (and blood) on his face, as if he had failed his duty.

"Relax, it will be alright" I tell him, feeling sorry for him. He fell limp, dropping his sword, he and his sword shattered and I put him into the grave. "And now, Darkblade, avenge the Prince with Holy slash of Shadows!"

I watch my monster shake his head, some of the armour having broken from the fall. He charged at Dark blade, sword in hand. The armoured being shatters into a thousand pieces and Ryan, initially loses 900 life points which removes the rest off his life points. Darkblade's effect kicks in, which removes even more life points and Robbin' Goblin with magic thorn remove another 500. "Another victory in the bag"

I watch as Ryan faints, Jack and Simon at his side. I gave Simon a quick call, hoping to get an assessment on Ryan's condition…he left it ringing, making sure Ryan was ok. Jack closed the boot, shutting me out. I sorted the cards back into a single deck, looking at Darkblade, Prince of the fallen kingdom and Lightblade.

"Thanks for the help guys" I told them, putting them into the deck last and putting the deck into the card holder. I set up a song on my helmet, putting 'the man who will not be moved' on.

* * *

There goes another chapter, next chapter is the arrival and Justin will be involved then.

And that's the third synchron, there are a few other tricks in this deck which will be brought out


	8. two friendly faces

A message to one reader: IS THIS SOON ENOUGH?

To everyone, thank you for the support so far, I hope to keep things at such a high note.

Here's the next chapter, I hope I haven't got Justin and Andrew OOC

Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh, Justin or Andrew, I own myself, and James, Ryan, Jack, Simon and their /my respective made up cards. I.E. Darkblade the Holy, Life bond Dragon and J.W's Holy avenger, wielder of the Darkblade

You'll have to forgive me, but I'll leanve describing them.

Chapter 8:

Two friendly faces.

I felt quite tired as we drew into the town, around 5:25 PM. I was sure the D-wheel was on its last legs. The battery was extremely low and I had turned everything off to try and save power. James led me along the streets, eventually coming t quite a large hotel. He stopped in the parking lot, me following suit but keeping near the bike. I put the visor up, .

James, Jack, Simon and Ryan all got out of the car, lifting up the boot and grabbing their luggage. James grabbed mine, seeing as though I was pushing the bike along. I had my bag on at least, so I was carrying some of my clothes. The car park was packed with cars, vans, minibuses. Well, you name it, it was there.

"We're staying here tonight" James announced, looking between us. "It's all paid for, and then we move to the stage in the morning"

"I can't believe we're going to see Satellite first hand" I told him. I looked at the hotel, thinking it looked quite grand. It was one of those fancy stone one with about 6 floors, not including the ground floor. I laughed a bit when I saw the name, 'the White Dragon'. What was with Kaiba and Blue eyes?

We walked into the hotel, finding that it was fully stocked with just about everything you would need for every age. Bars, night clubs, kids play area, heck; there was a little duel simulation thing inside which anyone could use. James had already gone up to the counter, asking for 5 rooms, one of which to hold a D-wheel. (Well, it had to go somewhere, and I did want it to go with me) he came back after a bit.

"Right, here's the keys" James told us, holding out 5 room keys. Each one looked remotely similar. "The single rooms are fully equipped, whilst the D-wheel room is set up with a spare room to hold the bike" he picked a key out, passing it to me. "Room 503 on the fourth floor. That's where you're going"

"Thanks" I told him, grabbing the key. "So where are the other rooms?"

"501 through to 505, all on one side of the hall, I've heard that there are some fellow duellists on the other side in 506 through 509"

"Well, this should be fun, I might say hello later on" I replied, looking for an elevator to use. "I'll see you guys later"

I heard a ping as an elevator arrived. I looked at it and saw that it was massive. Big enough to hold me, the bike and two more (As in two bikes and two riders). I pushed the button marked four, the doors closing as I did so. So far this place was brilliant, a five star. But I knew it had to be due to the tourney that this place was open.

When the doors opened again, I pushed the bike back out, turning it round in the corridor. The carpet was a nice light green colour and the walls were white…I wouldn't be surprised if they would keep me up. I walked along the corridor, seeing the gold numbers on them steadily rise.

"501, 502" I started counting, skipping 503 for obvious reasons. I stopped outside my room, seeing the door was a bit larger then the others. I got the room key out, putting it into the lock and turning. The door silently opened, revealing quite a large bedroom. It was basically a king sized bed with black quilt and pillow, (Curse of the black knight, damn) a massive window opposite and two doors leading to more rooms. An opening was evident, leading to a room specially made for a bike. Tools hung on the wall and paint was also around.

"Home sweet Home" I said, pushing the bike into the 'garage', getting the adapter from my bag and plugging it in. I heard the voice say 'battery recharging'. I put my duelling sight on; making sure it was comfortable before putting the disk on. Somehow my bracelets and Pentagram had survived the journey. While I would normally stay in the room and get used to it, I decided to go and see who else was around. You never know, you might find some High class duellists in this place.

"All in all Justin, I think we've got this one in the bag" I heard someone say. I was outside my room at the time with my duel disk in my bag. I closed and locked the door thinking that it was a duellist.

"True, but we may see some good duellists come along" I heard Justin reply. My interest was piqued at this point. I looked along the corridor, trying to place the voices. They sounded like they were coming from room 507. Well, I suppose courage is in order.

I walked over to the room, knocking on it. I heard voices on the other side, basically the pair wondering who it could be. One of them opened the door. I wasn't really sure who.

"Hey" I said, looking at him.

"Hey" he replied, looking at me. "Who might you be?"

"My name's Craig, I'm a duellist here for the Ocean Star tournament" I answered; I watched his face change from a neutral look to one of surprise.

"Oh, a duellist" he replied, opening the door fully. "Well, come in then"

"Thanks, who are you anyway?"

"I'm Justin" he answered, I followed him in, seeing another one about his age looking through a deck. "That's Andrew"

"Huh" Andrew started, looking over at me and Justin. "Oh, a good duellist, well, this ought to be fun after all"

"Count on it" I replied, pulling my deck out. "My faith is in my cards, and I'm sure I can win"

"Really" Justin replied, pulling out his deck, the card that was focused towards me was Stardust Dragon. "Try beating that"

"Easy" I pulled out Darkblade the Holy, showing him the card. "And done"

"You call that Darkblade?" Andrew asked, getting up and walking over to me, showing me his Dark blade, it was the original thing. "This card, along with my deck can, and will defeat you"

"Well, I have business to deal with" I told him, putting my cards back. "I hope we meet in the tournament"

"Hopefully in the closing rounds" Justin replied, smiling. "Just keep in till then and we shall see who wins"

"You got that right" Andrew echoed, both of them put their cards away.

"Well, I'm off, I've got to see what my brother's doing" I told them, walking away. "Nice meeting you"

"You too" Andrew replied.

I heard something just before I got out of there. You know the noise Kuriboh makes when he speaks, well; I heard that, I just couldn't really make it out. I chose to think nothing of it, leaving the room and closing the door behind me. James was lugging two suitcases up the stairs, Simon Jack and Ryan carrying their own. I immediately ran over to him, picking up my suitcase.

"We leave at 12:00 sharp" he told us, getting to the top of the stairs. "Make sure your awake and ready to roll by then"

"Will do" I replied, looking at the rest of them.

"This is going to be fun" Simon commented, smiling.

"Let's fight with our hearts and win" Ryan continued, also smiling.

"James, do you mind dropping me off at the shop when we get to Satellite?" Jack asked, I was surprised the shop was so close to the site.

"Not a problem, just don't go match fixing" James replied.

"Why would I do that?" he replied.

"Well, I'm getting an early night, good night people" I told them, walking into my room.

I changed into my Pyjamas and put my cards, bracelets and Pentagram necklace on the side next to me, hoping it would bring me good luck.

I needed all I could get to have a hope of winning.

So, Justin, Andrew, have I done you two right?

And next chapter is the beginning. I will occasionally have them retire to the hotel to sort out stuff. (Homework, friends, mail and so on) but it will mainly be in the 5'Ds set of Satellite, now have fun.

Advert: Andrew coad is doing his own take on Rowan5255's story, It's literally called 'my take' so that shouldn't be too hard to find. It is quite good; it follows the same principles of Justin's story apart from a different point of view.

Update's will slow as I'm trying to finish another story…and maybe laugh my head off as I watch Azureblade49 on Youtube, if I do, then sorry. Updates will come occasionally, but I'm working on 5 at the same time, so one has to be put on the list of priorities


	9. What the hell!

Here comes the weird part

I'm having Kuriboh speaking as I think it sounds, then 'figuring out' what he says

* * *

Chapter 9:

What the hell?

You'd be surprised how hard it is to sleep when the tournament is the next day. I hoped to somehow get to sleep in the plush soft bed, tossing and turning all night. I heard footsteps nearby…well, just outside the door. Then a letter was placed under the door, pushed through by someone.

Seeing as though I had spare time and that I couldn't really sleep, I got up to check it, walking across the floor as quietly as possible. I looked at the envelop, seeing that it was quite small. Well, I may as well see what's inside.

I walked back to the bed, turning on a side light so that I could see. I opened the letter slowly, making sure not to rip it at all. The paper inside was quite fancy, red coloured with black writing on it. I yawned as I pulled it out, making out the letters in the light and my sleepy state of mind.

_Took you long enough to get here. The footsteps are your friend. _It said, no signature so I didn't know whether to trust it or not. I put my clothes on, getting my boots on my feet so I had footwear.

Something about this seemed odd, I just didn't know what. I walked out of the room, looking round to try and find some source for the footsteps… nothing. not a sound to be heard. This was starting to get weird, I'll admit that. First the Kuriboh sound, now this.

"Hello" I spoke, trying not to wake anyone up. I walked quietly down the corridor, looking round. "Hello"

I looked around, hearing some foot steps behind me. There was nothing there either. I scratched my head as I started thinking, thankful I had my deck… well, if what James had said was true, I might be in for a duel.

I saw a weird puff ball of some kind float along the corridor. I was freaked out by it and so stepped back. It floated towards me, making that 'kree' sound. I froze in fear, thinking it was here to kill me.

"Stay back" I commanded, oddly standing still. The creature advanced still. "Stay back!" it kept on coming, starting to make that 'kree' sound more often…I know it's cute and looks harmless but it's not of this world.

When it touched me, there was a blinding light emanating from him, which I thought was odd…well, I think anyone would think this whole situation was odd, but considering that this was stranger. I covered my eyes as the light grew; engulf me then the whole room.

I covered my eyes with my arms, thinking that this was WAY too unreal. Eventually the light faded; the furry creature still next to me. I moved my arms away from my eyes, seeing that everything I had been wearing today had been shoved on me, even the pentagram and my duelling sight. These definitely weren't the clothes I had one.

I looked round, seeing darkness around me…nothing in sight apart from the furry little guy. I walked around a bit, finding that there was ground beneath me, just invisible.

"Where the hell am I?" I asked out loud, hoping someone would answer. The furry little thing flew alongside me, perching on my shoulder.

"Kree kree" He spoke. I looked at him; I nearly understood that, something like 'our world'

"What do you mean 'our world'?" I asked him, walking round a bit more.

"Kree, Kree" some lights came on, showing a path in the darkness. 'Follow the lights'

I guess I had nothing better to do. I walked along the path, the little creature…I'm guessing its Kuriboh, as it looks and sounds like him…Maybe that means Justin can see him. Moving back to the subject, the 'Kuriboh' flew above the path, showing me the way.

I looked through the sight at my surroundings, thinking that maybe I could see things through it…well, it was worth trying, but it didn't work, it was as if this place was lifeless. I looked back at 'Kuriboh', wondering where he was taking me. We eventually came across a field, coated crimson. I walked onto it, finding the red stuff was blood.

Now the field was massive in itself, so whatever happened here must have been BIG, most likely a battle of some sort. Kuriboh sat down on my shoulder, looking at me and hoping I would say something. I recognised the field from somewhere.

"Wait" I said, getting my deck out and scrolling through the cards. I eventually found the respective spell card. Fields of blood, a card I hadn't used and one I hoped not to have to bring out. It destroys all monsters on the field, and the owners take damage equal to the destroyed monsters attack points.

"That's the same image" I told Kuriboh, looking at my shoulder to see him again.

"Kree, kree?" he replied…well, I think it's a he 'Your point being?'

"What is going on?"

"ME! THAT''S WHAT!" A voice boomed, followed by the sound of a sword being drawn.

Kuriboh and I both looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. I turned away from the field, then felt Kuriboh tackle me to the ground. I felt the air above me shift as a blade was swung above me. I turned over, seeing a cloaked man standing over me with his sword.

"Who are you?" I asked him, he swung his sword down again. I rolled out of the way to avoid being hit, pushing off the ground to get back up. "What do you want with me?"

"My master wants you dead!" he shouted, swinging his sword again. I blocked using the duel disk…where the hell did it come from? He hit the disk, leaving a sword mark on it but it still remained intact.

"Why does he want me dead?" I asked, kicking him onto the field and walking after him.

"You will be in his way" he answered, getting back up and swinging his sword sideways, turning it into a duel disk of sorts. "But why not settle this the easy way?"

"I see where you're going with this" I replied, looking at my disk and seeing the deck inside, ready for action. "I accept your challenge" I engaged the disk, watching it all unfold and start working.

"Duel!" We both shouted, drawing five cards, I looked at Kuriboh, seeing him look as worried as hell. Big shield Gardna, Judgeman, Scrap metal scarecrow, Dunames dark witch and Soul Edge (Prevents one monsters destruction once, the picture is basically a sword protecting a warrior from dragon's breath) I looked at my opponent, seeing him smile as he looked at his hand.

"I'll go first if you don't mind" I told him, looking at his…cloak.

"Go ahead, delay your demise" he replied, laughing evilly afterwards. I drew a card, looking at it and finding Graceful Charity

"Go, Graceful charity, so I may draw three cards as long as I discard two" I told him, putting the card in the grave and drawing two cards. Blade Synchron, Monster reborn and double summon, placing Judgeman and Double summon in the grave

"First off, I'll place two face downs" I told him, placing Soul Edge and Scrap Metal scarecrow down. "And I play Monster reborn to bring back Judgeman and summon Blade synchron!" I summoned the monsters, seeing them walk out of the shadows, their feet covered in blood. "And I Tune them to make my best card!"

I watched as the squire walked over to the judge, kneeling before him. The judge puts his hand on his shoulder, smiling. He turns into the rings, the judge jumping into them. "The spirits of the fallen lend their strength. Become the vassal of war you were born to be!"

The bright light appears, hitting the ground just to my right. "Synchro Summon, Darkblade the Holy!" I watch the blade fall, point down, to the ground, Darkblade landing afterwards. Both get covered in blood, Darkblade on his legs and hands and a bit on his face. "I'll end there" I tell my opponent, I was proud to get my strongest monster out in one turn.

"Prepare to fall" he speaks, his voice sounds quite evil and deep…and snake like? He draws a card, smiling again. "Go, Giant Tunade" he plays the card on the field, the magic typhoon blowing my trap and spell back into my hand. Something about this seems a lot worse then before, the blood flew up into my face and even Darkblade felt some of it, holding his blade in the ground to weather the storm.

"Next I active Black Hole" he continues, placing the card on the field. The black hole appears above us, spinning round as it lowers and destroys Darkblade. He shouts in pain as this happens.

"No, Darkblade!" I shout, genuinely worried about the warrior.

"Your next, mortal!" my opponent shouts, using another card. "I active double summon, to bring out my Battle Ox Pair!" he places the magic card in the grave, placing the two monsters on the field. Their eyes were red with blood lust and they did laugh a bit. "Go, Battle Ox, attack him directly!"

The two monsters run at me, weapons held high and their eyes glowing red. The blood beneath them gives off a squelch as if they were running on wet mud. They swung their weapons down at me, dealing their 3400 points of damage. That was the least of my worries.

I felt a strong surge of electricity pulse through me (I expected to have two long sword wounds). I shouted in pain as it racked my body. After 5 seconds of pure agony, it was over. I kneeled to the ground, breathing heavily as I did so. I held my free hand on the ground, the blood soaking onto my skin as I did so. My jeans covered in the crimson sea as was my shoes and jacket. Kuriboh flew over to me, worry evident in his eyes.

"Kreeee, kreee?" he asked me. 'Are you alright?'

"You try… having… electricity… pass through… your system" I replied, trying to stand up and falling again.

"Stay down, human" my opponent tells me, I look at him, wondering what he's on about. "I want you to beg for mercy"

"That's… not going… to happen…anytime…soon" I replied, slowing getting back up. If this wasn't a dream, I was going to need one hell of a wash after this. "I still…have life points"

"And when you lose them, you will go to join the despairing souls"

"What?"

"That's what happens when you lose a shadow game"

Did he just say 'shadow game'? They don't, won't and never did exist in real life or otherwise…but then again, monsters don't exist, and look at Kuriboh. I drew a card, hoping to have something good…graceful charity.

"I play pot of greed!" I told him, putting the card into the grave and drawing. I pulled out Fields of blood and Zanetsuka (It has a picture of someone with a demon half, namely a bat wing, a fiery eye and a flaming arm).

"Here goes nothing" I say, pulling out the magic card. "I activate fields of blood!" I shout, placing the card in the spell and trap card zone. The whole field gets a rainstorm of blood. We all get covered in the stuff, the battle oxen even more so. "With this, every monster on the field is destroyed and the owner takes damage equal to the original attack points of the monsters added together"

I point at him, watching his monsters turn on each other. "I'll be honest, I don't like this card, but I have to use it here, and so I will. So give the blood tribute!" I tell him, his monsters hit each other at the same time, their blood pouring on the ground beneath them. I watch with joy as my opponent loses 3400 life points, the electricity flowing through him. I pull Zanetsuka from my hand, placing it on the field.

"Next I activate Zanetsuka!" I shout, watching the card flip up. He looks at the card wondering what it does. "This spell has a double effect. First, if Darkblade the holy is in my grave, I can bring out an even stronger monster"

I looked through my deck, searching for…there we go. "I special summon Shadow Saviour, Darkblade. Seek redemption for your demon lineage!" I play the card, watching Darkblade appear on the ground, his armour darker then before and his sword black, his hair was cut in places. Some places in his armour were missing. (Shadow Saviour, Darkblade, 8, 3000, 2500, can only be summoned by way of Zanetsuka)

"And Zanetsuka's second effect increases his attack by 500!" I shout. This effect applies to both sides of Darkblade, thankfully. (3500) his right arm sets aflame, his right eye is replaced by a bone sticking out, giving off flames and he gets a demon's wing on his back.

"What is going on?" my opponent asks.

"Darkblade has demon blood in him" I answer, looking at my monster. "He has been fighting it since he was born into this world but occasionally lets it out to aid in combat"

I pointed at my opponent, still not seeing his face. He only had 600 life points, and he would have done the same to me if he were in my shoes.

"Go, Shadow Saviour Darkblade!" I shout. Darkblade swings his sword, upsetting some of the blood on the ground. He started running towards the guy, his blade getting a black aura around it. "Silmerian slash of shadows!"

"No! I can't LOSE!" the guy shouts, getting his sword back out and trying to block my monster.

He holds his sword in a defensive stance, Darkblade running across the blood, splattering his feet in the crimson water. The swords both clashed, sparks flying as they both held firm. Eventually, the hero, i.e. Darkblade, won, breaks the sword and slashing at my opponent. Blood spills from a sword wound on the guys chest, Darkblade leaping back towards me.

"How…could I…" the guy starts, collapsing onto the ground.

"You okay?" I ask him, walking forward. Darkblade stops me by putting his sword in front of me. I look at him, wondering what's going on.

"Kree, kree" Kuriboh speaks. 'Look, watch'

I look on, hearing the guy still groan in pain as he lays there. He slowly gets back up, slowly changing appearance. He shreds the cloak off, showing a snake like body, all scaly and shiny. He shouts at the top of his voice, a black smoke emanated from him, covering his appearance. A massive shockwave emits from him. Me, Darkblade and Kuriboh trying to keep stable and still.

The smoke clears, showing Red Archfiend dragon…all 3000 attack points of him. Darkblade as he is now is an even match as Zanetsuka turned off due to the duel ending.

"I told you I shall not LOSE!" he yells…well, more roars, but not really much difference. "You shall DIE HERE ON THE FIELDS OF BLOOD!"

Darkblade looks at me; worry evident in his eye. I know he can't handle the dragon on his own, but I can't really do much more. Maybe the deck can help.

"Either run back or help" Darkblade tells me. His voice sounds quite deep and…evil, well, demon blood can do that.

"But I don't know what to do" I replied, looking through my deck.

"Give me a power boost!" he shouts, charging towards the dragon. I reach into my deck, finding Sacred blade of Darkness (A black sword on a white background)

"Go, Sacred blade of Darkness" I speak, placing the card in the spell and trap card zone. "Use this Darkblade"

The sword appears at my side, flying towards Darkblade's side. The warrior grabs it as if flies by his sword. (If this were a duel that would be 200 attack points up) my warrior jumps up, slashing at the dragon. The dragon breathed fire bank at him, hoping to shoot him out the sky.

The two forces collided, the warrior slowed down by the flames. He slowly fell, bringing his sword to bear on the dragon's head.

"BEGONE!" He shouts, his sword going through the dragon like a hot knife through butter. When he hits he floor, the dragon blows up, blood flying every where. I braced for the explosion, feeling the shockwaves rock me.

It was too powerful; I got thrown up, Kuriboh staying down somehow. I shouted to the pair, hoping they would somehow save me…

"Darkblade! Kuriboh!" I shout, darkness filling my eyes, I can't even see the pair, the lights or the field. I blinked, hoping somehow I would wake up from this dream. Thankfully I did, looking up at the ceiling of my room. I was breathing heavily, in a cold sweat in my Pyjamas.

"It was just a dream" I told myself. "It was just a dream. It's just a dream" I looked around, seeing no sign of what I had seen. I looked out the window, seeing that daylight had broken. I got out of bed, starting to get dressed.

Someone knocked at the door. I ignored it as I was getting dressed. They knocked again, and I ignored it again.

"Craig" I heard James say. I still ignored him, getting my shirt on. "Craig, open the door"

"Can't…getting dressed" I told him…that was half the reason, I didn't want him to see me in the state I was in.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, just getting dressed"

"Well what was Simon on about when he told me that you were shouting 'Darkblade' and 'Kuriboh?"

I paused, thinking of an answer…how did Simon hear me…unless I shouted that after the dream.

"Just a vivid dream" I told him. I got my bracelets on, putting the pentagram over my neck.

"Well, get ready to go. We've got breakfast in an hour then we leave" he told me, walking away.

I got everything together, except for my duelling equipment. I found my sight, checking it for damage or stains of any sort. Nothing, thank god. I looked at my deck, nothing there either. My cards were all in one piece and accounted for. The one thing that did worry me was the duel disk.

It had a mark in it, exactly like the one I had gotten in my dream…and in the exact same place.

* * *

So there, my next chapter done. This is, like I said, where the weird stuff comes in. So that's Darkblade's second form…the other two have one as well, but they use different cards.


	10. Entry and a show

This is late due to my birthday…and playing to much twilight princess, along with James going fishing on said game… and Link's crossbow training…and other stuff.

* * *

Chapter 10:

Birthday duel

Entry and a show

How do I explain to James that my duel disk is damaged due to being in contact with a non-existent creature that used a sword and nearly beat me at a 'shadow game'? He might not notice it, or if he does, I can say I found it like that, don't know why. Then again, it was my birthday so I guess he just wouldn't notice

I sighed deeply, wheeling my D-wheel out of the hotel. (This was after breakfast, Bacon sandwiches for me, egg and bread for Jack, toast for Ryan and…well, loads for Simon) the battery was fully charged after the night's plug in. we left our luggage in the hotel, James saying about how the organisers would send it along to the next hotel later.

I was annoyed that we had to keep travelling, but it didn't bother me too much. I had time to reflect on the weird dream/duel and think up an excuse for my Duel Disk damage. James led us along the road, I saw Justin and Andrew get into a bus and follow us. The breeze felt good across my person, and I think it did me good to get on the road again.

"If that was a dream" I started, looking at my deck. "Then why were Kuriboh and Darkblade in it as well?"

I looked at the bus, seeing Justin and Andrew talking to each other. I was slightly suspicious about the pair. I looked and saw a Dark magician and a Dark magician Girl next to him, most likely late Halloween goers. But then again, they do look slightly transparent.

We eventually came to our destination, a little warehouse just off the highway. James parked up inside, with me close behind him. Justin and Andrew would have to get off somewhere nearby, so I took the opportunity to call home and see how Mum was doing.

I rang the number, listening to the phone tone. Eventually, Mum picked up.

"Hello" she said on the other end.

"Hey Mum" I answered, smiling. "It's Craig"

"Oh Craig, How's your tournament going?"

"It hasn't started yet; we're nearly there just not in"

"Good, and keep safe"

"Will do, now what have I missed?"

"Nothing much, it's been extremely quiet without you and James"

"Any homework sent back?"

"For that, check you're Email, and speaking of school, a friend of yours asked if he could cheer you on with a small crowd"

"Easily done, go ahead"

"Right, goodbye"

I heard the phone get put down, then the annoying noise following it. I felt quite saddened that Mum was so far away, but I suppose at my age I might as well get used to it. Justin and Andrew walked in, introduced themselves to Simon, Jack and Ryan and we crowded around James.

"The entrance is Right…" he started, stepping on a panel in the floor. "Here" the whole place started going downwards, towards, what I presume is the first round…Satellite. Home of Yusei and his friends, the back end of town in 5d's. Hopefully we wouldn't have to do anything as important or severe as him.

I got out my deck again, looking through the cards. I wasn't 100% sure they would get me through to the final, but they would get me as far as they could. I got out Darkblade, seeing a kind of aura around him…weird, that wasn't there before. I looked through the rest, seeing no such change.

"I'm guessing you can see that as well" Justin spoke quietly. I turned around and saw him right behind me, looking over my shoulder at the card. Well, no point in lying now.

"What is it?" I asked him, holding the card a bit higher.

"It's what happens when a card has a duel spirit inside it"

"A what?"

He looked at me oddly when I said this, as if I had broken some moral code. I think I was meant to know what it was but didn't. I could see in his eyes that he was going to tell me.

"A duel spirit is a monster card that has a spirit attached to it in the image of the card" he explained. That just made me even more confused. How could that even be real?

"So basically every monster card has a spirit that can talk to us and stuff like that" I reiterated, looking at him.

"Basically"

Now I really didn't see why he didn't just explain it like that in the first place…but considering I had only just met him, I guess I could let him off…for now. The 'elevator' stopped moving, a door opening in the opposite wall. James left the room, leaving the car behind. Everyone followed him, even me. The whole place was exactly as portrayed in the anime, even down to the people walking in the streets

"Welcome to Satellite, home of the first round and kept in perpetual twilight" James announced. I looked round, seeing that, yes, it was in twilight, but the buildings were old and in need of repairs. Either the people here were actors or lived here. And if they lived here, they must have had it rough.

James was leading us around to where we were meeting the rest of the duellists, a stadium in the heart of the city. I didn't pay much attention to what he said, thinking about the card. Darkblade was, literally, one of my dream cards. Could that mean that the others have Duel spirits as well? And what about Simon and Ryan's deck…or even J.W's?

We eventually stopped in a stadium, getting seats quite high up in the place. Simon, Ryan and Jack (Actually, why is Jack in here?) sat down first. I put my deck away and joined them with Justin and Andrew behind me. James had to go somewhere else as he was staff here at the moment. The centre of the stadium had a riding duel ring, along with a standing duel field.

The stadium must have been about 50 seats high with 500 seats all the way round. (If my maths is right, that's…25 times 1000……25000 competitors in this one tournament…VERY large scale) Everyone was sitting quietly as the lights dimmed. Suddenly, J.W rides out of one of the entrances. His golden armour and D-Wheel standing out.

"Go, Holy Avenger, Wielder of the Darkblade!" he shouts, placing the monster down on the field. The angel drops out of the skies, a golden aura lighting up the stadium. Everyone gasps as they see him, applauding the show. I sat down with my arms crossed, Simon and Ryan applauding…Jack was booing and Andrew and Justin were quiet.

"Whoever wishes to pass into the realm of the king!" J.W shouts, standing up on his wheel. "Must first pass the test of the golden knight!" he punches the air, everyone going into frenzy. He lowered his hand, everyone going silent. "Here with details on how we run this tournament is Mr James Appleby!"

James walks onto the standing Duel field, a white duel disk on his arm. He was wearing casual clothes, like he had been all day…I presumed he'd be wearing formal. He placed three cards on the disk, the black, red and yellow backed cards from before.

"Thank you, King!" he shouts, with a mic on his ear. "This year, the prize is either money or a chance to face the king! Your entry card shall tell you which you have!" He breaths for a bit, letting everyone look at their cards. "Everyday, there shall be a notice from a staff member on who you will be facing…chances are you're having three duels a day!"

"You need 30 wins to proceed to the next round. Once you have the number, you may only duel with others winners as exhibition matches!" he breaths again, looking round. "For those of you with a D-Wheel helmet, the information will be sent to you, otherwise, check with staff!"

He looks round a bit more, letting people take this information in. "To those of you who seek fame from this, know that a television crew is coming along to film the matches to play on some of the channels, so your friends and family may watch!" he raises a finger, looking in my direction. "Just know that if you interrupt a duel, then you will be docked one win, meaning you have to fight for longer with more pressure!"

"If one day you don't get any matches, then don't worry, there will be enough to play one match a day or you will be compensated with extra wins!" he punches the air with the same hand that he had raised, hoping that people would cheer for him. "Duellists, one and all, Let the First round begin with a small exhibition match!"

Everyone looks at each other, wondering who it might be that he wants. I had a feeling it might be J.W, one of my friends or me…either one would be quite entertaining.

"Would Craig Appleby please step forward to show us his skills?!" he shouts, spotlight blinds me as it turns on. Me in the full beam. Everyone started clapping as they heard my name. I walked down the steps, heading towards a duel against an old opponent…easy.

"Didn't think you'd want to see me so soon" I commented, making sure my sight was secure.

"They need a show to get them started Craig" He replied smiling as he pulled the three cards off and loaded a new deck. "Besides, if you lose, you're out"

"What?" I replied, keeping my deck out of my disk.

"You've already accepted the challenge, and under the orders of the organiser of this match, if you lose, you are out of the tourney"

"And let me guess, we're on TV" I half asked, half guessed.

"Well dur, I didn't think you'd be so slow"

I put my deck into my disk, letting the mech unfold and activate, hold it towards James. He held his white duel disk towards me, a smile on his face.

"Duel!" we both shout, drawing the first five cards. I looked at my hand and saw Speed warrior, Scrap Iron Scarecrow, Pot of Greed, Anti-Regeki and Big shield Gardna…a good first hand.

"I'll let you go first" James told me…I knew he had some kind of plan, but I had to risk this duel.

"Very well, Draw" I tell him, pulling a card out of my deck and looking at it. Soul edge, perfect for defensive strategies involving weak monsters, but not good at the moment. I put the card into my hand, pulling out pot of greed.

"I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards" I tell him, placing the spell in the grave and drawing the two cards necessary. Sacred blade of darkness and The Mercenary Hero L3. "I'll places two face downs" I pick Anti-Regeki and Scrap Iron scarecrow out of my hand, placing them on the field. "And then I place a monster in defence mode" I pull out Gardna, placing him on the field. "That'll end my turn"

"Hah, and I thought you had more" James Starts, drawing a card. I can see the film crew behind him, moving round to get a good view. "First off, I play Change of Heart" he tells me, placing the card on the field and letting it rise. "So your face down monster is mine"

"I think not, Flip Summon Big Shield Gardna" I flip the card over, watching Gardna take form on the field. "So your spell is negated" I watch as the spell shatters, James placing it in the grave and groaning.

"Lucky shot, I play Spear Dragon!" he shouts, placing the dragon on the field. 1900 attack points didn't scare me, as I had more and a trap. "Next I play two magic cards" he continues, placing two cards on the field.

One of them is obvious; United we stand, Spear Dragon's attack rises to 2700. The second one is not so obvious…actually; it looks sorta like a warrior standing in front of a volley of arrows. James Smiles as I try to figure out the card.

"I play united we stand and Warriors final battle!" he shouts, equipping United we stand to spear dragon. "With WFB, I can destroy all warrior types on the field" he points at Gardna as he explodes. I place him in the grave…Sorry Gardna, I failed you there.

"And thirdly, I play a field spell, Seal of Oricalchos!" he shouts, placing the card in the field spell zone. The familiar seal from the Yugioh series appears, this time no supernatural effects on us. "So my spear dragon has 3200 attack points"

The whole crowd cheers as they see the monster get so powerful. I was calm, knowing that I had the scarecrow to save me.

"Go, Spear Dragon, skewer him for me"

"Not so fast, Go Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" I shout, revealing my trap. The monster stops where it is and the trap flips back down. "Nice try but no cigar"

"That Trap won't save you FOREVER!" James shouts…he seems to be taking this duel too seriously.

"Look, is it my turn or what?" I ask him, he nods. "Thank you, now I draw" I pull a card out, looking at it. soul edge, not exactly what I needed.

"I play Speed warrior in defence mode and place a face down to end my turn" I basically do what I say, placing soul edge ready to activate.

"Witness the engine of your demise" James taunts me, pulling a card out of his deck. "I end my turn, as I can do nothing"

"Then allow me to provide some entertainment" I tell him, drawing a card…Graceful charity. "Go Graceful Chairty" I place the spell in the grave, drawing three cards (Bow Synchron, Magician of faith and double summon) and Discard two cards (Sacred blade of darkness and the mercenary hero)

"So now, I play double summon!" I place the card on the field, letting it fully do so before playing the two monsters. "Go Bow Synchron and Magician of Faith!" I shout, placing the two monsters on the field. They both look round, seeing the crowd and waving. "While I don't wish to disrupt your entertainment, we have a duel to win"

They both stop and concentrate, Blade synchron having gotten in a better stance then before. "I tune my three monsters together!" I watch as the squire throws his blade up, the magician firing a bolt of light at it and speed warrior jumping into the forming rings.

"The four winds provide excellent cover. Attack the enemy with your matchless fury!" I shout, the bright light emerges followed by the falling bladed bow. "Synchro Summon! Silveneste, the archer of the winds!" the archer falls out of the light, using her mastery of the winds to stop her fall just before the ground. She picked up her bladed bow, looking at the crowd.

"I activate Silveneste's special ability, and choose big shield Gardna as the monster. So I gain 2600 life points!" I shout. Silveneste creates a calm soothing wind to blow on me. And man did it feeling good. We both refocused on the battle, thinking of what to do next.

"I'll end there" I finish. Silveneste looks at me oddly, as if she had a plan of some sort.

"Too easy" James taunts, pulling a card out of his deck again. "I play Solemn resolve to special summon My Tuner, meet Scrap Synchron"

He plays the card, I look at the image and make out a soldier standing alone, trying to rally the men in a retreat (Solemn resolve lets you special summon any monster in your hand, so long as you meet the requirements to summon it. If it needs sacrifices, you need the number of monsters on the field but don't sacrifice them)

I watch the monster appear on the field, it's basically Junk synchron but pure white…and level 8 with 2000 atk points and 1000 def.

"And now, I dark tune my Scrap Synchron with Spear Dragon!" he shouts. The scrap breaks up into small black stars, each entering the 4 star dragon.

"Hang on, 'Dark tune'" I start, looking at the 4 black stars that have appeared from the dragon. "So does that mean…"

"Yeap" he pulls out a -4 star monster. "Darkness is all consumeing and the winner in every fight. Carry on the tradition of Darkness and win. Dark Synchro summon. Aris, God of the dark winds!"

I watch as the monster appears in just about the same way as Silveneste did, except he basically fits the evil god motive with dark clothes, a black long sword and a scarred face. (-4 star, 2500, 2300) Now I'm worried.

"Go, Aris, God of the dark winds, show that archer who's boss with twilight winds!" James shouted, his monster obeying all too willingly.

"Go, Scrap Iron Scare…" I start

"Don't even bother, Traps don't work on Aris!"

"Silveneste, counter with summers breeze!" I shout…it was no use, the dark and white winds collided and Silveneste was pushed back and killed, I took 100 life points of damage (6500) but was unscathed.

"And now for his other special effect!" James shouts, I looked at him, hoping it wasn't going to be too bad. "If he destroys a monster, the monsters attack points are taken out of your life points"

I felt a small shock go through me, enough to sting but not too much. James had me down to 4100, which was better then his score. I needed a few good cards at the moment.

"My turn" I told him, putting my hand on my deck. "Draw!" I shout, pulling out the card…United we stand…Great. "And I end"

"Was that it? Jeez" James taunts again, drawing a card. "Aris, attack him directly!"

This time the blow hurts, a more severe pulse going through my body. I kneeled on the ground, breathing heavily as I pondered my next move. James Laughed quite loudly.

"You call that pathetic excuse of a group of cards your DECK!" he shouts, walking round a bit. "Give up now and go home"

"What has happened to you James?" I ask him, getting up slowly. "What happened to the brother who got us here?"

"He never existed"

"Well, I'll bring him back with this turn" I tell him drawing a card…Valkyrie, perfect. "I Play Valkyrie!" I shout, showing him the card. (It's basically a half angel, half human picture) "Now I can special Summon Fallen Angel Silveneste!"

I watch as the angel flutters down by my side, bladed bow in hand. Her right side now has the opposite to what Darkblade had. (Angel wings, white clothes and a white eye) (8, 2900, 2500, can only be summon via Valkyrie)

"And for Valkyrie second effect of increasing her attack by 500, followed up with United we stand" I play the cards, watching the effects take hold to put her up to 4200 attack points. She looks at me, as if she were going to say something, and then turns back to the battle. "Fallen Angel Silveneste, Attack Aris with Angel's crusade!"

I watch Silveneste Charge the god, firing an arrow at him. The arrow finds it's mark in the god's chest, followed up by Silveneste slashing at the arrow impact area…basically the god's dead and James takes 1200 damage (2800)

"I'll end my turn there" I tell him…He might have some plan but it doesn't look like it.

"Looks like Dark synchro summoning can't beat you at the moment" he tells me, drawing a card. "I can't do anything, finish it"

"Gladly, Silveneste, finish this duel with Lighting arrow fire!"

Silveneste notches an arrow, firing it at lighting speed straight at James. He stays standing, unlike my previous duels, but he is definitely out of life points. Victory is mine. That's one less duel to do…

* * *

There's my debut with Dark Tuner monsters and Silveneste's second form. Hope you enjoyed it.

Advertisement: Andrew coad has started his own story, delve into shadows, I'm not giving anything away as he can't update it too often.

This is me going mad. I did this chapter at 3:30 in the morning GMT. Remind me never to do that again


	11. First round part 1

Madness with two duels at once.

This chapter had to be reposted due to my mistake with Tuners.

Chapter 11:

First round matches

Justin VS Andrea

Andrew VS Matthew

I got back to the group, everyone leaving the stadium by this point. They were all standing up, looking at me as I approached.

"That was fun" I told them, looking at Silveneste's card. "And I think we'll be moving sooner then I thought we would be"

"Well, let's go and find out who we're facing" Justin said, looking at Andrew. "I think we owe you at least one show of our decks"

"That's true, but we don't know when the matches are" Jack replied. He was as serious as ever.

A little beeping noise came off my sight, followed by an email symbol coming up. I opened it, seeing two different messages, one from school and the other from James. I opened James first, thinking I could open the other one later.

_First round matches for you today._

_Justin vs. Andrea in the port 12:30_

_Andrew vs. Matthew in the port 12:30_

_Simon vs. Apmarg in the precinct 15:45_

_Ryan vs. Joey in the precinct 15:45_

_Craig vs.??? In the Recycling centre 21:00_

_Good luck to one and all, and see you at the start of you're matches._

"Looks like we're starting soon" I told them, looking between them. "It's Justin and Andrew playing in the port area at 12:30"

"That gives us half an hour to get there" Jack told us…we all looked at him, thinking he knew too much.

"Simon, Ryan, your playing at quarter to four in the prescient"

"And the walk is about 15 minutes long"

"How do you know so much?" Andrew asked, looking intently at him.

"I knew some people who played here…right before the disappearances" he explained, looking at the ground as he did.

"Whatever happens, lets get going" I told them, being my normal cheery self. I lead the way, putting a map up on the screen.

I opened the email on the way there. It turned out just to be a small group telling us to give it our all and come home safe. There were a few mentions of my duel with James, but nothing much. I didn't really mind, we're all here, not just me. After 15 minutes of walking, we got to the port, two duellists standing, waiting for a duel with a referee near them.

"Well, wish us luck" Andrew told us, running over to the pair.

"And cheer us on" Justin continued, doing the same as Andrew. They stood in front of one of the duellists, swapping sides as they attempted to find their opponent. Me and Jack stood near Justin's game, Ryan and Simon standing near Andrew.

They activated their individual disks, all looking towards their opponent. Andrea was a girl, a Russian flag painted onto her disk. She wore quite casual clothes that were a bit tight. Her hair was covered by a helmet. Matthew was Asian with a long pony tail and silk clothes. His duel disk looked like a flag in a way.

"Duel!" they all shouted, drawing 5 cards and getting started. I look at Justin, seeing him drawing an extra card to start; I think Andrew did the same.

"I place one monster down in defence mode, and place two face down cards" Justin tells his opponent, placing down the cards in question. "I'll end it there"

Andrew places down one face down, plays swords of revealing Light and summons Dark blade in attack mode. The black armoured warrior rises out of the ground, swinging his sword. I think he leaves it there.

"My move, Comrade" Andrea starts, giggling a bit. She draws a card, smiling as she looks at it. "I play double summon" she says, placing the card in the graveyard. "So, by summoning and sacrificing my Battle warrior, I bring out Fairy joker, Puck" she plays the monsters, removing Battle warrior almost straight away. (Fairy Joker Puck, 6 stars, 2000 attack, 1500 defence). I looked at the fairy appear. It looked like a cross between a goat and a fairy, but more cheery and strong.

"Go, Fairy Joker Puck, destroy his face down with Purple dust trick" she commands. The monster pulls out a sack, putting his hand in it and holding it in front of his mouth. He blew the stuff towards Justin's monster, flipping to reveal Marshmallon

.

"I'm afraid, you've done yourself more harm then good" Justin taunts, moving his hand towards Marshmallon. "Marshmallon can't be destroyed in battle, and if he is attacked, then you take 1000 points of damage"

"What?" Andrea replied, growling as she took the damage.

"And what's more, I activate Astral barrier and Spirit barrier" he continued, flipping the cards up and letting the barriers appear. "So now, I can let you attack me directly, but I take no damage from it"

That was one hell of a combo. The only way to break it I could see was to destroy one of the traps or destroy his monsters with spells or traps. He was good, I'd have a hard time to break it the way I was at the moment. Jack studied his deck just as hard as I did, hoping to find a weakness.

"It's your move then" Andrea replied, growling. I looked at Andrew's side, seeing his opponent place a card in defence mode and end there.

"Thank you" he starts, drawing a card and smiling. "I summon Magna dragon to the field" he places the card down, the dragon appearing on the field. "I'll end it there"

I looked at the other duel, seeing Andrew playing Mystic plasma Zone, empowering his Dark blade by 500 attack points and lowering its defence by 400 points. He then played a pitch dark dragon, making the union between the two with the warrior mounting the dragon. Dark blade gained an extra 400 points, so it was now at 2700 attack points and it was at 1500 due to the balance between the lose from the field spell and the gain from the dragon.

I watched him order an attack. The rider of the dragon jumped up, a black fireball following him. He slammed his sword down upon the flames, knocking them down into the face down monster. The figure of Battle Ox could be seen before it shattered. I could see Matthew struggle to keep where he was as a wall of force hit him. His life points took a steep dive as it plummeted down by 1700. For the first attack round, that was an awesome move.

Andrea gritted her teeth as she drew a card, smiling as she saw it.

"I activate Mystical space Typhoon!" she shouted, placing the spell in the active spell zone. "So say good bye to your Spirit Barrier!"

Justin covers his face as the card shatters, one of the barriers falling. I was surprised that such a good plan would have such a simple flaw, but then again, every plan has its own weaknesses. Andrea smiles as Justin puts the card in the grave.

"So now, go, Puck, destroy Magna Drago with Purple dust trick!" she shouts, the fairy does the same as last time.

"I take it direct to save my dragon" Justin tells his opponent, the purple dust enveloping him. He takes 2000 points of damage.

"And that's the end of my turn"

I look at the other duel, seeing Matthew place another defence monster, then ending his turn. Andrew had a powerful Deck, he just had to draw the right cards to win…Maybe the flaw is getting his union cards on their own and destroy them that way.

"My move again" Justin starts, drawing a card. I look at his face, he's smiling…he's got a good plan. "I summon Summoned Skull, Join the field buddy!" The fiend joins the field; MarshMellon leaves so the mighty monster may fight. "And now I tune Magna Drago and Summoned Skull together"

The dragon flies above the field, breathing fire down upon and vanishing. The flames turn into the rings and surround the fiend. "The winds of Destiny and Care are blown forth, Witness the grand wings that ride these winds" the bright Light plume appears, every covering their eyes to get a look.

"Synchro Summon!" he shouts, a roar heard in the background. "Fly, Stardust Dragon!" the mighty dragon descends from the sky, the 'stardust' falling from it and giving off a nice feeling. "Next, I activate Lightning vortex to destroy your monster" he plays the card, discard a monster. Lightning shoots out and destroys Puck.

"And then, I play monster reborn, to bring back the monster I just sent to the grave" he continues, playing the card. "Come back, Summoned Skull" The fiend appears on the field, dusting himself off with his bony arms. "Now, Summoned skull, attack her directly, Lightning storm!"

The fiend raises one hand, a bolt of lightning flying upwards, 5 seconds later, the bolt flies down, accompanied by 7 others, each striking Andrea. (Down to 500LP) "Now Stardust, finish this with Reverberating blast sonic!"

The shiny blue dragon charges up a white wind from its jaws, firing at the Russian. She recoiled, losing the rest of her life points. I was amazed; Justin had barely taken a scratch and had won, decisively even…my god I sound like snaggle puss.

I looked over at Andrew's duel, seeing him play Lightning vortex and discarding a card. The face down monster was destroyed. Andrew ordered a direct attack, this time the warrior showing off by doing the same but with a back flip added in.

3 turns…that's all they needed to win…I managed to do two, but that was in a dream…wasn't it? The ref looked between the two matches, deciding who had won.

"The clear winners are Andrew and Justin!" he shouted, both lads ran over to each other and gave each other high fives, resetting their decks. We all ran over to them, giving them congratulations and that sort of thing.

"Nice duel" I told them, holding out my hand for a high five.

"You know it" Justin replied, giving me a high five.

"The power of the original cannot be beaten" Andrew continued, giving me one as well…We'll see about that when you face Darkblade the Holy.

"Hate to cut celebrations short" Jack interrupted, everyone looking at him. "That's one win to Justin and Andrew, Only 29 more to go"

"We know" Everyone told him at the same time.

"Only saying…anyway, how about we go to my shop until the next match comes around?"

"May as well do" Ryan answered, looking at us.

"We could review our decks and get ready to fight" Simon echoed.

I couldn't exactly argue with them. They needed to get ready; I had more time to then them. We all started walking to Jack's card shop, hoping for a break and to look through the guy's decks.

* * *

Is that how'd you guys would fight, because if it isn't then sorry.

I might skip Simon and Ryan's match, just put in a filler with us watching on a TV


	12. First round, part 2

I am sorry, but I'm going to do this from an outside view, so I'm watching Simon and Ryan's duel on the duel sight.

* * *

Chapter 12:

First round matches

On the stands

The spirits answer

We had quite a nice time, relaxing in Jack's Satellite shop. We all helped Simon and Ryan come up with good plans for their decks, and an especially powerful one for Simon's…heck, if it weren't for the fact I was here with Sacred sword Ragnarok, I doubt I would be able to beat him.

"Right" Jack started, looking at the clock. "3:15. your duel is in half an hour"

"Then we better get going" Simon replied, putting his deck together and putting it into his duel disk.

"We're going to win" Ryan told us, confidently. He held his disk parallel to his body, placing the deck carefully into the machine. He smiled as he turned round to us.

"You guys go ahead" I told them, thinking about seeing if I could talk to my cards. "I'm going to look through some of my cards for some plans"

They all just nodded, walking out. Justin did hang back for a bit, but not long. He looked at me, wondering what I was going to do, and then walking off. I made sure I was alone before getting Silveneste and Darkblade out, seeing a white aura around them.

"Alright, I think I get it with you two then" I told them, placing them on the monster zone. They both appeared, looking round for some kind of opponent. "Don't bother, I just wanted to talk"

They both turned around and looked at me. Darkblade's red and brown eyes and Silveneste's green and white eyes looking into me. I guess they both knew the game was up.

"How'd you figure it out?" Darkblade asked me, his deep voice kinda freaking me out. He put his blade on a sheath on the back inside of his armour. "I thought you thought it was a dream where I talked to you"

"I'm guessing I played a part in that" Silveneste told him, putting the bladed bow along her back, near a quiver. Her voice sounded pure…even purer when compared to Darkblade's. "I kept on moving out of sync with today's technology"

"Oh well, he had to figure it out sometime"

"HE is still here" I interrupted them, walking forward. "Now can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"It's best if you bring my brother out for this" the demon warrior told me. I knew he meant Lightblade…but a third duel spirit.

"May as well do" I told him, pulling Lightblade's card out and summoning him. He looked round, doing the same as the other two warriors before him.

"The game's up brother" Darkblade told the light warrior. He turned round, putting his word in a sheath on the other side of his shield.

"You could have at least given me some time to get my lines ready" he replied, taking some of the plate off. He looked at me, wondering what to say. "Well, I suppose the blades are here to serve their new master"

"Master?" I gasped. I wasn't their master, I was their ally.

"You can see us; you own our cards and you seem to have a connection to us" Darkblade answered, looking round. "While I've seen many battle fields in my life, these are the most entertaining"

I activated my duel sight, opening the TV channel onto Simon and Ryan's matches. They had already started. Simon had summoned manual Labourer in defence mode and placing two face downs. Ryan summoning Junk synchron and Dark Blade using Double summon, then tuning them to summon Junk warrior. He placed a face down, ending his turn there,

"Glad to know we can do something for old warriors" I told them. Lightblade's eyes wee black and white…I should've said that earlier.

"Well, what is it that makes you so connected to us then?" Silveneste asked, walking over to me…oddly, she was only just taller then me, and I guessed around the same age. (I'm 16, work the rest out)

I looked back at the duel, seeing Simon's opponent play a battle warrior to destroy the labourer, falling for his trap. His opponent was a German known as Fischer. Simon played Reproduction, bringing two Manual Labourers. He stopped there, a camera showing his hand…nothing but high level monsters…too easy.

Ryan's opponent, an American called 'CYCLOPS' Mike, had summoned a Goblin attack force, he ordered them to attack the junk machine. Ryan activated Scrap Iron Scarecrow to negate the attack.

"I'm not your master" I told them, backing up. "But I think I have an idea on the connection"

"What would that be?" Lightblade asked, looking quite serious.

"For a while before I got you guys and the deck, I was dreaming about using these exact cards" I told them, pulling the rest of the deck out and looking through them. "Heck, the details are exactly the same down to the minute details"

"Well, that is strange" Darkblade spoke, smiling a bit. "So we have a weird being out there somewhere"

"Most likely in this competition" Silveneste interrupted, looking quite shocked. We all looked at her, wondering what she meant. "If we were made from our master's…"

"Friend's" I corrected, she ignored me.

"…Dreams, then wouldn't he want to see the results so he can find out how well he did?"

It did make sense, we all looked between each other, letting the information sink in…some deranged creature had stolen ideas from my head and made these cards come to life.

I looked through the sight again, seeing Simon summon Dragon remains (3, 100, 1500) the skin of the dragon rose up, covering Simon. He then placed a face down and ended his turn…I think I know what he was planning.

Ryan drew a card, looking at the goblins in defence mode. He summoned a tune warrior in attack mode. I watched as the machine fell onto the field, a smoke rising from the impact zone. He dusted himself off, then lending his power to Junk warrior. So that was now at 3900.

He ordered an attack, tune warrior destroying the goblins and Junk warrior attacking Mike.

_Ryan VS Mike_

_Ryan: Junk warrior, tune warrior. 4000 LP_

_Mike: nothing, 100 LP_

_Simon VS Fischer_

_Simon: Two manual labourers, Dragon Remains. 4000 LP_

_Fischer: Battle warrior, 3400 LP_

"I don't claim to know what's going on" I told them, smiling. "But it's great to know I have allies in and out of my deck"

"Likewise" Lightblade replied, putting his armour back on.

"If something is going on here" Darkblade started, looking outside. "Then I'm sure that you, along with us and your allies will be able to find out who's behind it"

"I guess we're along for the ride" Silveneste smiled as she said this…I did as well, after all, who would say no to card spirits. "At least for now"

"Well, I guess first port of call is to win this tournament" I told them, walking around.

"Why do you say that?" Darkblade asked.

"Well, if there is someone who wants to test the power of you guys for future plans, don't you think he would attack if he saw us win?" I looked at them, seeing their faces change as I spoke. "Besides, I want to win this anyway. No one treats cards badly and keeps their position"

They all nodded again, smiling. I knew the moral code when it came to cards; treat them as if they were your friends. I think they agreed to taking him down a few pegs, for the way he treats his cards at least.

"If you have need of my aid in battle" Darkblade starts, walking over to me. "Just summon me" He disappears, going back into his card.

"My Sword will be ready to serve" Lightblade tells me, doing the same as Darkblade.

"And if you have need of an expert archer, be sure to call me" Silveneste finishes the conversation, doing the same as the other two warriors.

I put them into my Deck, looking at the duels…Damn, I missed it, but at least Simon and Ryan won. I decided to make myself scarce, pulling up an email from the tournament organisers.

_All contestants are to be housed in a hotel of their choosing. If you do decide to retire for a bit, tell us and we'll have your bags ready at the hotel you tell us._

I wrote that down on a piece of paper, folding it up on the counter. I walked out, intent on looking at the competition…

* * *

Another chapter in the bag…and that's the three duel spirits. And I know I only did part of the duel, but I thought that, if you were in the situation, Duel spirits are more important then an opening duel…yes I will get moaned at for it.


	13. first round, part 3

Chapter 13:

First round matches

My time to fight

The black knight marches.

I wandered through the town, wondering where I could go to have some fun. I did think that I could, somehow, find a gaming tournament here, for all of those who failed in the official one. My thoughts were interrupted by a message coming up on my sight.

_Dear Craig_

_Your duel is being brought forward a few hours, so please get to the recycling centre as soon as possible._

_You opponent is still unnamed, but your friends will be notified. And to repeat; Get to the recycling centre._

_Ocean star Administer, Marcus Solari_

_P.S. I hope you're ready._

"Looks like I'm up sooner then I thought" I spoke, thinking the three spirits would be listening.

"Master, we should get moving" Lightblade answered, appearing in front of me.

"I'm not your master. It's friend, ally or Craig, alright?" I moaned at him. He stumbled back, surprised at what I had said to him.

"You're lucky; we used to call someone 'lord'"

"Really, that must have been high up the list of weird moments"

"You'd be surprised"

"Moving on" Silveneste interrupted, appearing next to Lightblade. "We should get going, and I think I can feel some one coming here at high speeds"

"How can you tell that?" I asked her, scratching my head.

"Trust me, you don't want to know"

"Look, even I don't know, and I'm sure Darkblade would be interested" Lightblade told her. I smiled as I thought about the warrior.

"It's true" the demon warrior spoke, appearing on the other side of Lightblade. "I would like to know so I can learn. And I'm sure it would come in useful for Mas…"

"CRAIG!" I shouted, everyone looking at me as I shouted.

"Fine, Craig would find it useful"

"I'll tell you after our next battle" The angel archer told the other warrior. "Besides, we have to go"

I heard an engine roar behind me, the three duel spirits disappearing as I turned around to look at whoever it was. I saw my D-wheel being driven by James. He had plugged his disk in to get the bike moving. He stopped next to me; smiling…something had changed in him.

"Ready to go?" he asked me, taking his disk out and getting off.

"As ever" I replied, plugging my disk in and getting on, James passing me my helmet.

"Justin, Simon and company are being taken to the match site as we speak"

"So all I've got to do is get there on time"

"Correct, now get rolling, your opponent isn't going to wait forever"

I nodded, getting the system set up and my hand around the throttle. I sped off, leaving James behind me. People stayed out of the centre of the street, leaving me enough room to get to my duel. I honestly hoped that it would be like the other duels, easy and done without much effort.

After about five minutes, I arrived at the duel site, stopping just inside and getting ready. I had to win this, if it was like my last one with James, it would have some kind of special rule. I walked in, seeing nothing but the mechanical centre in the darkness.

"Hello!" I shouted, hoping someone would answer. "Anybody home?"

"Over here" someone spoke. I heard a light switch click, followed by the lights turning on. I looked around, seeing someone in what looked like old dancer's clothes. Quite vividly coloured and with a long silk hair tie back thing on his head. He moved his arm, showing the custom disk, it was basically an arm disk…no, literally an arm disk. The sleeve had the card placement area on it, along with the deck held on it. "Shall we dance to a glorious victory?"

"Who the hell are you?" I asked him, engaging my disk and seeing the deck shuffle itself.

"My name is of no importance. What is important is this duel. If you lose, you're out"

"Enough talk, let's go" I told him, looking round for the group. I knew I owed Justin and Andrew a good look at my deck, but I knew they wouldn't miss it.

"Duel!" we both shouted at the same time, drawing the first 5 cards. My hand was Soul Edge, Fields of Blood, Negate attack, Dunames Dark witch and Prince of the fallen kingdom, Level 3.

"I'll start, handsome" the guy started, drawing a card. "And just call me Sugar"

"Great, I'm playing a guy who thinks I'm sexy" I moaned…I must stress, I don't have anything against gays, but I'm not…in fact I'm nowhere near gay.

"So sweety, enjoy the moment" he then looked evil as he played a card. "I summon Desert Dervish!"

The nomad appeared on the field, holding a sword in her hand. (2, 600, 1400) I don't know why, but was in attack mode…was he joking with me.

"And now, I play the spell First strike!" he placed the card, a picture of two archers loading arrows in a duel like fashion, "So now my monster can attack you"

"What?" I gasped, looking at the monster.

"But that's not all, I play Rush recklessly!" he placed the card, the woman getting quite angry as she gained 700 attack points (1300) "So go, girl, attack Craig"

"Oh jeez"

"Desert's dance!"

The woman slowly danced towards me, swinging her sword around in a dance like fashion. When she was close enough, she kicked me in the chest and slashed at my arm. I was annoyed at going down to 2700 life points in one move, but I had chance to get momentum back in my favour.

"I'll end with two beautiful face down cards and end my turn" he finished, going back to his normal voice. Thank god it was my turn.

"Here I come" I told him, smiling and drawing a card. Harpies feather duster…great. "First off, I play Harpies feather duster to remove your face downs" I told him, placing the card in the active zone.

"I counter with Gyphon wing" he told me, revealing the face down card. Neither of us lost anything, but we didn't exactly gain much.

"Next, I play Fields of Blood" I continued, placing the card where I took the magic card out of. "Fallen crimson tears ask for a blood tribute" the crimson rain showered his dervish, drenching her clothes. "Now you lose your monster and 600 life points" the monster stabbed itself in the chest, blood flying onto my opponent. He winced as the blood hit him; thank god it was just a hologram.

"Continuing, I summon the Mercenary Hero, level 3" I placed the monster on the field, the warrior appearing next to me. "And I place two face downs before my warrior attacks" the mercenary ran towards my opponent, getting ready to slash at him. "Slash of youth!" he hit my opponent, dealing 1500 damage. (1900) I placed Soul edge and negate attack down, ending there.

"How could you disturb the beauty of my duel?" he asked, seemingly mental.

"Chill out and relax, it's not like the fate of the world is hanging on this duel" I replied, smiling

"You don't know what's happening, do you?"

"Huh"

"If I win, I get four million American dollars, so I can buy my way into the showbiz scene"

"There's more to life then showbiz"

He looked at me, evilly, as if I had crossed a moral boundary. So I've pissed off my opponent, great *sarcasm*

"You shall pay for that remark" he spoke, going to his evil voice. "It's my move" he drew a card, smiling as he saw it. "I play Goblin attack force"

The goblins appeared on the field, clubs in hand. They looked at the mercenary, an evil plan in their eyes. "Now Goblins, destroy that ugly mercenary" I watched the goblins run towards the warrior, swinging their clubs…the sane thing would be to play negate attack and end the battle phase, but that wouldn't help him out…no, I had a better idea.

"Go, Soul Edge!" I shouted, revealing the face down. The sword equipped to my mercenary, the warrior moving it to block the goblins. "It saves my warrior from destruction for now"

"Down side there is you still take damage"

"And, while I may have lost 800 life points (1900) I still have my monster, and you goblins are now in defence mode!"

"You're right there, but I place a facedown and end my turn" he turned back into the happy one…you know, he really does seem schizophrenic…man that was a long word.

"Right then, my move" I started, pulling a card and seeing Pot of Greed. "I activate the spell Pot of Greed, to draw two cards"

"Breath before continuing" I heard someone say. I looked around, wondering who it was, then I remembered Darkblade, Lightblade and Silveneste were around.

I drew the two cards, seeing Chaos Synchron and double summon. My mercenary levelled up to 5, so I was in a prime position.

"I activate double summon" I started, showing him the card and placing it in the grave. "So now I can summon Dunames Dark witch and Chaos Synchron to the field"

The pair appeared on the field, Chaos spinning his spear around in his hand. I thought that he might have a piece of Lightblade's spirit in him, then dismissing the thought.

"Now I tune then together!"

The spearman put his spear into the ground, using it as a footstool to jump off. Dunames followed, the synchron forming the rings around her. "Redemption is a widely sought after thing, find your salvation on this field of battle!" the bright light emitted from the area where they had been.

"Synchro Summon. Fight for us Lightblade the Chaotic!" I shouted, Lightblade landing next to me, an arm plate missing. "So now, go Lightblade, destroy the goblins with Secular Slash of the holy!"

"With pleasure" he replied, running over to the goblins, his sword glowing red.

"I play Metamorph and style swap" my opponent spoke, revealing his face downs. Style swap showing two dancers, one doing the tango and the other doing the fox trot. "Metamorph shall increase the attack and defence of the goblins by 300" he started, I watched the figures rise, wondering what was next. "And style swap changes the mode of the goblins"

The goblins got back up, coated in metal. They had 2600 attack to Lightblade's 2400. I heard Lightblade swear, but couldn't quite make it out as he was defeated.

"Lightblade!" I shouted, putting the card into the grave.

"And I believe that's the end of your glorious duel" my opponent told me, smiling.

"That's my turn done"

"Good" he drew a card, ignoring it. "Goblins, attack the mercenary hero"

"Negate attack" I play the card, ending his battle phase.

"I'll end there"

"My move then" I drew a card, looking at it with glee…Wrath of Vengeance. (A warrior holding his blade up as another one walks away)

"I play the spell Wrath of Vengeance!" I shouted, placing the card on the field. "So come back Lightblade. Return as a death demon!"

Lightblade came back, his armour covered in runes and two swords in stead of one, still holding the shield. (8, 2700, 2700) "And he gains 500 from wrath of vengeance, and my mercenary levels up again" I announced, watching the changes occur. Lightblade put more runes on his armour, grunting as he did so.

"Lightblade, destroy the goblins with Demonised slash of Light!" I shouted, watching Lightblade run forward; vanish, and then the goblins heads fall off as he reappeared. (1300) "Mercenary Hero, finish him with Lightning hero slash!"

The hero threw his blade, jumping after it and slashing down onto my opponent…an easy win, and quite fun.

Too easy. When the holograms disappear, my opponent is gone as well, no sign of the guys…I resolved to head back to the shop, thinking maybe that held the answers. I looked at the cards I had used in the duel, smiling

_Lightblade, thank you for your aid. Darkblade, Silveneste, all three of you. We need to find out why things are so easy. and what happened to Jack and company_


	14. Shadow games?

Chapter 14: Shadow games?

I got back to the D-Wheel, starting up the bike and calling James. I saw the phone symbol come up, his name underneath. He answered the phone quickly.

"What now Craig?" he asked, seemingly moaning.

"Do you know where Andrew, Simon, Ryan and Justin are?" I asked him, leaving Jack out as he wasn't a duellist.

"Aren't they with you?"

"Obviously not"

"I'll send you a real time map with their disks shown. If you can find them, then you can handle it"

"Thanks I guess"

He ended the call. I mounted the bike, waiting for the map to turn up. Darkblade appeared at my side, smiling.

"You really do care about your friends don't you?" he asked.

"Like you care about Lightblade and Silveneste" I retorted, looking him in the eye. "Being honest if I let them down now, I couldn't really forgive myself"

"Same with me"

"Well, at least we can agree on that"

I rested on the bike, leaning back and looking at the 'night sky'. I thought back to how this whole thing started. Me getting the deck and the duel against Crowler…just to see his face when he was defeated was worth that duel. If I hadn't of won that duel, would I be here right now?

My dream deck…too good to be true…my…no, our best chance at victory. I heard a beeping on the helmet, looking through it and seeing the map coming up with 4 light spots all in the same spot. They must be there.

"We're on" I told Darkblade, getting the bike started. "Whatever happens, my friends' safety comes first, right?"

"Alright, mas…" Darkblade started, stopping as he realised what he was about to say. "Craig"

"You're getting the hang of it" I complimented him, smiling. He smiled back before disappearing.

I rode through the town, not setting up any music as this was too important. I had to make sure they were alright. Something told me I would have to duel someone…I sent some mail to James, telling him to keep an eye on my disk's condition as I might have a duel.

I eventually came to the location, finding an old warehouse on the quayside. I stopped the bike, getting my disk engaged and my helmet off. I walked into the building, hearing the occasional muffled shout.

"Hello!" I shouted, walking slowly while looking round. "Anybody home?!" eventually I saw my friends; each of them tied up and gagged, duel disks on their arms. "Guys!" I shouted, running over to them. A barricade of sorts rose up in between me and them, stopping me from advancing.

I heard an evil laugh, looking round and seeing a woman standing on top of some boxes.

"Who are you?!" I asked him, holding the disk away from him, just in case.

"The name's Elendil" she answered. She wore black, tight leather clothes all over her, even wearing a ninja cowl. Her disk was a shield "And I'm here for your cards"

"You'll have to take them from my cold dead hands" I replied. She just laughed a bit more and pushed a switch on her shield.

I heard a cry from behind me, turning round and seeing the guys being shocked. How could someone go that low?

"Ok, Ok" I told her. She turned off the electricity, the guys looking at me with sorrow in their eyes. "This was my fault guys, I'm sorry"

"Put Darkblade, Silveneste and Lightblade's relevant cards on the box to your left" she ordered me. I looked and saw the box, taking the nine cards out of my deck and putting them on the box. _Don't worry guys, I'll handle her _I thought, looking at them.

"Now let them go"

"Who said anything about that?" she replied, laughing evilly again…What is with people and the evil laugh?

She jumped down, slamming her disk onto the ground and purple flames surrounding us. I looked at the flames, seeing them cut me off from the cards. I could feel their spirits beg to help…but they couldn't.

"One match" she told me, her arm glowing with a weird symbol…it looked like an angel wing. "Win and you and your friends can leave with your cards…lose and your soul goes to join the despairing souls"

"What? Is this a shadow game?" I asked her, putting my disk in front of me.

"Correct, now less talk, more fight" she activated her disk, 5 cards showing and the deck appearing in the middle.

I drew 5 cards, finding trap hole, fissure, soul edge, prince of the fallen kingdom and pot of greed. She drew five cards as well, smiling as she looked at her cards.

"I'll go first" I told her, drawing a card…double summon. "I'll start with pot of greed" I placed the card in the grave, getting two cards from my deck…Sacred blade of Darkness and Sacred blessing of Chaos (A young goddess standing in front of what looked like the mercenary hero) "I place two face downs and place the prince of the fallen kingdom on the field in attack mode"

I placed Soul edge and Trap hole in the spell and trap zone, placing my prince on the field…it obviously was a trap, but would she think that. "That ends my turn"

"Very well" she told me, drawing a card and smiling. "I play pot of greed and double summon" she announced, pulling two more cards from her deck and summoning two monsters to the field. "Go, Dark blade and Shadow priestess of ohm" she told me, the two monsters appearing on the field.

"I play trap hole" I told her, showing her the trap. "Say good bye to Dark blade"

I watched the monster shatter, the shards hitting Elendil with no visible marks. "It doesn't matter much" she told me. "Priestess, destroy the prince with Darkness orb"

"Go, Soul Edge" I told her, raising my second trap. The prince's sword turned blue as the priestess threw a black orb. The prince moved the blade, destroying the orb but still taking a wound. I got push back onto the flames, getting blocked by an invisible wall and feeling a lot of heat on my back.

I shouted in pain, it hurt like hell. The prince helped me up, making sure I was alright before he checked himself. I looked at my life points, seeing them drop by 200.

"Don't worry, I'm fine" I told him, getting up slowly. "What the hell was that?"

"Just a side effect of a shadow game" she told me, smiling evilly. "Every point of damage…"

"Is a bit of your health gone. I know" I told her, holding my disk securely. "Now, is your turn over?"

"Not yet" she told me, drawing two cards. "Go, Solemn resolve" she announced, the card appear. "Now I summon Dark tuner, Elendil's Dark Will!" she shouted, bringing out the piece of paper. (6, 0, 0)

"I can see what will happen here" I told her.

"I dark Tune Elendil's Dark Will to Shadow Priestess of ohm" the priest grabbed the will. Reading it and tuning into two dark stars.

"For the Darkness we fight, the fallen shall rise once again!" she shouted, the Synchro monster appearing. "Synchro Summon! Fallen Angel Silmeria!"

The angel in question appeared. Two black wings first, then a long white sword, then black clothes and white eyes. It flapped down towards the field, landing quite lightly. (-2, 2400, 1000). "And just so you know Silmeria can only be destroyed by effects, so any battle is in my favour"

"Which means my prince will be in danger once he promotes" I replied, looking at my prince. "Sorry"

"But right now, I play a face down end my turn"

"Then Here I go" I told her, drawing a card…graceful charity. "I activate Graceful charity" I told, placing the card in the grave and drawing three cards…I saw my prince level up to Lv 5. I looked at the cards I had drawn, seeing Barrel Dragon, Call of the haunted and Fissure, I put Fissure and barrel dragon in the grave, smiling.

"Now I play call of the haunted" I told her, placing the card on the field. "So now I can bring my Barrel Dragon from the grave" I held my hand out, pointing to where he would appear. The machine dragon took to the field, its guns fully loaded and ready to fire. "And I'll chain together sacred sword of darkness and sacred blessing of chaos to equip them to my prince"

I watched as my prince put his sword into a sheath, holding his arm out and a black sword appearing in his hand. A grey aura surrounded him. (2400) He was protected…for now.

"I activate my dragon's effect" I told her, pointing at my dragon. "I call one of your monsters and flip 3 coins" three coins appeared in front of me, spinning round. "2 heads means your monster's history"

"The darkness is on my side, so I shall not fail here" she replied, seemingly too confident.

I ignored her, flicking the first coin. It landed on the ground…tails...damn. I flicked the second, seeing it land on heads…all down to this one then. I flicked the third, seeing it land on tails. Damn. My dragon fired three shots, one landing near the dark synchro.

"Oh well" I told her.

"I chain spell block with your barrel Dragon's effect" she told me, raising hr trap card. It looked like a shield blocking a mage's spell. "So your spells that affect my side of the field are useless"

"There has to be side effects for that card"

"I can't think of any"

"Well, for now, Barrel Dragon, attack her monster with tri barrelled volley!"

I watched my dragon, seeing it roar as it aligned the barrels. I resisted the urge to shout fire as the dragon attacked, smoke surround the synchro monster. She took 200 Life points of damage, but I knew something was up…maybe it was the smile.

"Is that all you can do?" she taunted, looking at me, an evil smile on her face and an evil laugh coming from her mouth…DAMN YOU EVIL SMILES AND LAUGHS. "I've taken more from a toddler who only just learned to play!"

"I'm sure that's not true" I told her, smiling…okay it was a façade, but I had to do something to try and unnerve her.

"After this duel, those cards shall be in rightful hands"

"Yeah, mine" I told her, swinging my free arm. "I trust them, and they trust me, so what can you do about it?"

"You shouldn't ask what you'll regret later" she replied, drawing a card, smiling AGAIN. "I play a second pot of greed" she told me, drawing two cards. "And what do you know? I play two more pot of greed's"

Ok, I swear that went over the limit…4 in one deck, even I don't go that far with solemn wishes. She smiled yet again, laughing AGAIN!!!!! "I place down two face downs and play mystical space typhoon!" she shouted, placing the trap down. "So say goodbye to your sword of darkness!"

I watched as the magic card disappeared, groaning as my prince lost 200 atk points. "And now, Silmeria! Attack Prince of the fallen kingdom with Light of the fallen!"

The angel flew towards my prince, spinning at the last moment to kill my prince. I was surprised I lost him this turn, but it had to come eventually. I watched as my life points slipped another 200. I felt a bit more pain as I got close to the flames, not touching them.

"Now I activate Domino!" she shouted, bringing up the trap card and discarding a card from her hand. "So say goodbye to your barrel dragon!" The dragon roared as it was destroyed, the shockwave sending me back further, the pain increasing. "And I also activate sniper shot!" she continued, revealing her second face down. It looked like a sniper aiming at another soldier. "With this, I call heads or tails, if I call it right, you take 2000 points of damage"

"And if you call it wrong?" I asked her, worried what was going to happen.

"You get to draw a card"

"Doesn't exactly seem fair"

"I don't care"

The coin appeared in front of her, spinning round in the air. "Heads!" she shouted, flicking the coin. It bounced on the ground, moving towards me slowly. It stopped moving, the outcome surprised me.

It was heads…I heard a bullet shot ring out, then a pain in my leg as I was hit. I saw my life points drop even more, now on 1600. The rate this duel was going, I was going to lose…badly. I had barely scratched her.

I need to get some momentum back…I need a good card.

"Here I Go" I told her, drawing a card from my deck…Magician of Faith, quite useful right now…pot of greed or graceful charity…Pot of greed. "I place a monster face down and end it there" I told her, putting the girl in defence mode.

"I guess you're easier then what I've heard" she taunted, drawing a card. "Silmeria, attack his face down monster"

I watched the angel fly up, stopping above my monster and bringing the sword down upon it. My magician flipped, showing itself on the field.

"Thanks for that" I told her, placing Magician of faith in the grave. "Now I can get a magic card back, and I think I'll take my pot of greed back" I reached into my graveyard, feeling the card return. "And I'm sure that's it for you"

"Next turn is your demise" she told me, pointing at me, and then moving her hand in one of those 'you're dead' motions.

"I'd like to see you try" I told her, drawing a card…Blade synchron…not strong enough to handle this. "I play pot of greed to draw two cards" I placed the magic card in the grave, putting my fingers on my deck. I didn't draw for a bit, looking at the cards. "You haven't failed me before…and for that, I'm truly thankful" I told my deck, closing my eyes. "Please…give me the means and strength to win this…and show the world the strength of friendship"

"DRAW!" I shouted, pulling the two cards. I held them in front of me, opening my eyes…United we stand and the blade of chaos (A grey sword surrounded by lightning bolts and lava) just what I needed. I started laughing a bit, overjoyed at my draw. Elendil was confused at my joy.

"Just what I needed" I told her, going through my hand. "I summon Blade Synchron to the field in attack mode!" the Squire took to the field, swinging his blade in front of him. His face showed inexperience, but covered up with determination.

"Only 1000 attack points" Elendil commented, wiggling her finger. "Nowhere near enough to beat my angel"

"Enough to hold it off" I told her, getting my other two cards out. "Go United we stand and Blade of Chaos!" I shouted.

The two cards appeared on the field, each one shining. Elendil covered her face in some weird attempt to avoid the light. The chaotic blade appeared in the squires off hand, it glowed with a red aura, as bright as the squires yellow glow.

"What…What is happening?" my opponent asked, looking at me.

"My equip cards power him up. First off, united we stand increases it with 800 attack and defence points" I explained, seeing the number increase through my duel sight. "Secondly, the blade of chaos gives him 500 more attack points per monster in the grave"

Lets see if I've got this right…1800 standard…prince of the fallen kingdom LV3 puts it up to 2300…LV5 to 2800…barrel dragon to 3300…magician of faith to 3800…oh my god, that was a hell of a lot for the little guy. It would leave a mark.

"Blade Synchron! Attack Silmeria with United Chao Strike!" I shout. My squire holds the blades up above him, a blue light appearing on it. He moved them down, running forward as fast as he could. When he was within reach of the fallen angel, he brought the blades down, hitting her wings.

The angel cried out in pain, her wings getting two sword marks. Elendil fought back against the shockwave of damage. (2400) she lost, hitting the flames and crying out. She quickly walked back onto the field, looking at me.

"How…can you…do this…with no…syncro monsters?" she asked, various scratches on her.

"I honestly don't know" I told her, smiling. "I put my faith in my deck, the bracelets, my friends and this pentagram"

"Well, I shall have to shatter that faith" she responded, drawing a card. "I play…Spirit barrier" she told me, playing the continuous trap. "Now…as long as…I have…monsters…I take…no damage…at all"

"That can be broken" I told her, smiling. "I just want to know why you went after my friends and started this shadow games…if that is what this is"

"I was told…you were…in the way…of master's plan…something you have…was too powerful" she explained, still breathing heavily.

"I've got my spirits…that must be what he wants"

"Give them…to me"

"No…I'll win here before that"

I drew a card, looking at it…monster reborn…perfect. The only way I was going to win was to destroy her angel then attack her directly. "I activate Monster Reborn!" I shouted, playing the spell card. "Now I bring back Barrel Dragon in attack mode"

I watched the mechanical dragon rise, Blade Synchron's attack points dropping due to its rebirth, but rising again due to him being present (I count 4100 attack points). "I activate Barrel Dragon's effect, and I call your angel" the three coins appeared in front of me, this time I flicked all three of them at the same time.

The first coin fell on tails…the second fell on heads…and the third…which everyone watched with baited anticipation…Heads. "Excellent, you've pulled through for me" I told my dragon, hearing him roar. "Now then, Barrel Dragon, Artillery volley!"

The dragon roared again, aiming his guns high. He fired all three shots, two missing, and the third made contact. The angel screamed as she was destroyed…beat that! "And now, Blade Synchron! Attack her directly!"

My synchron nodded, running at Elendil. The girl kneeled down, begging for mercy…this is what you get for messing with my friends. The squire swung at her, removing the rest of her life points. She fell to the ground, the flames dying out.

I ran towards her, grabbing her by the neck and pulling her violently towards me. She was still alive, but heavily injured.

"Tell me who sent you!" I told her, gritting my teeth.

"Why…should…I?" she replied.

"Because if you don't I'll break your neck you bitch! NOW TELL ME!"

"I…Don't think…you deserve…his name" she replied, her eyes looked purple now that I could see them. "He…wasn't…very…helpful"

"TELL ME!"

"His…name…was…" was all she said before she went limp…she wasn't, she was still breathing. I still had her by the throat.

"Tell me!" I shouted, shaking her…no response. "TELL ME!"

"That's enough!" Silveneste told me, appearing in front of me. Darkblade and Lightblade at my sides. "She's out cold"

"She kidnapped and hurt my friends" I replied, letting her go.

"Let it go Craig!" Lightblade told me, looking concerned. "You don't want to go down the dark road"

"He has a point" Darkblade agreed, looking even more serious. "Your friends are safe, Leave it at that"

I didn't exactly get what they meant, but I knew one thing…I forgot about my friends being tied up. I turned round, seeing them unconscious. I ran over to them, untying them and taking the gags out. I gently put them on the floor, hoping they were alright.

Justin was the first up, then Simon, then Andrew, then Jack and lastly Ryan. They all explained what had happened. They were ambushed as they headed back to the shop, knocked out and dragged here…I know that odds are I wouldn't have exactly been able to help out much…but I would have felt better if I was there to help.

I grabbed the 'blade series', as I call them, cards. Putting them into my deck along with the cards in my graveyard…something was bugging me about this duel…she seemed like the duel world's equivalent of a mercenary. And what could I have that someone wants.

Whatever the answers, we called an ambulance, carrying Elendil along the road to the hospital. I did feel sorry for her, but something told me something was off. I pulled out her deck; looking through the cards…Solemn resolve…It was missing.

"Jack" I started, the card trader looking at me. "Before today…had you ever heard of Solemn resolve?"

"Yes…I've even got one" he answered, smiling.

"What's the picture?"

"An angel and a demon standing back to back"

"That's odd. I've seen two with a soldier trying to rally a fleeing army"

"That's not Solemn resolve, that's Foolhardy Doom"

"Say what?"

"They do the same thing, but I guess there trying to pass them off as the same card"

"Do you mind if I borrow it tomorrow?"

"Go ahead"

"Thanks"

I looked at the 'sky' seeing the 'moon' linking up the 'stars' as we walked.


	15. the hospital

This is just a message to readers.

I had a Huge Saturn in my deck which, as you know, I haven't even touched. This chapter replaces it with an obvious Card.

* * *

Chapter 15: the hospital.

I stood at that viewing window in hospital; watching Elendil on loads of machines to help her breath and…well, basically live. The doctors were some of the finest in the world. They couldn't find anything wrong with her; all that was evident were a few physical scratches. Jack, Simon and Ryan, as far as i know, were sleeping in a nerby room.

I explained my story to the doctors, each one as baffled as the last…I think, if it weren't for Simon, Ryan, Jack, Justin and Andrew backing my story up, they would have accused me of making her ill with some never-before seen virus. That thought did make me laugh, along with the thought of experts being baffled.

Something about Elendil stood out to me…kept drawing me to her. If not for James being my brother and not some Kaiba corp. suit then I would have asked him about the card. Elendil seemed to know about whoever was behind this more then some other people I could name.

I don't know why but I wanted to end this at this early stage. I didn't want to see another person injured. I wanted to know what this guy wanted from me that was so important that it was worth injuring people for. I knew the spirits were around me…and I did need someone to talk to right now…someone who I could trust.

"Who could do something like this?" I asked, seeing the spirits appearing around me. Silveneste looking through the window. "How could anyone pay someone to fight someone else in a shadow game?"

"There are worse things I've seen in my lifetime" Darkblade commented, busy polishing his sword.

"That doesn't make me feel any better" I replied, looking into the room again. "Then again, demons do find evil good"

"I am no demon"

"I know, but wouldn't your demon blood be affecting the emotions you feel?"

"Good point"

"In a change of subject" Lightblade interrupted, looking into the room as well. "How did you know about our bloodlines?"

"It was on your cards"

"Oh…simple"

"Exactly"

"Craig" Silveneste started, looking over at me. "If she doesn't pull through…do you want me to help her to the over side?"

"You can what now?"

"I can guide souls to the heavens. If she dies…"

"She'll pull through" I told her, looking back at Elendil. "She has too"

I paced around the room, seeing Darkblade and Lightblade fighting each other in a spa. I did want to join in, seeing as though it would take my mind off of the girl. But seeing as though they were spirits, I couldn't so I sat on a bench. Eventually Justin walked in, Dark magician and Dark magician girl behind him. He looked at me, seeing me in my foul mood.

"Are you ok?" he asked, sitting down next to me.

"I've been worse" I told him, referring to my injuries from the shadow game. "What about you? Are you alright from your shock therapy?"

"I'll live" he replied, looking round. "I just can't believe what happened?"

"I know what you mean" I replied, looking into the room again. "If I hadn't have won that duel, then I doubt we would have gotten out with what few wounds we got"

"It's so much like…" Justin started, looking round. "The show…you know"

"I know what you mean, but that was just a TV show…wasn't it?" there was an eerier silence after that question. Obviously it had some basis in real life, what with the duel spirits, shadow games, Kaiba corp. and evil people out for big plans. "I'm going for some air. Jack might have Solemn resolve ready"

"Just tell me something" Justin started. I looked at him, wondering what he was going to say. "Before this tournament, did you think it could actually happen?"

"I still don't, and I thought I was the traumatised one after that match"

I walked out, my monster spirits following. I knew there was a small chance of me getting some answers from Elendil, but she was too weak at the moment…and I don't want her to die an avoidable death.

I got outside…the 'sun' was rising and it was raining like hell. I had my cards in the case, my duel disk on my arm and my duel sight on my left eye. I looked at the sky, thinking that I needed some sleep soon…would I have another dream like the last one or would I have a normal night's sleep.

"Hey Craig" Jack said from behind me. I turned round to see him smiling.

"What's up Jack?" I asked him. I think I looked quite sombre.

"You know that card that you asked for"

"Solemn resolve"

"Well, I'll give to you in a trade" I sighed as I heard this. The shrewd business man as ever.

"What do you want?"

"You know that Huge Saturn You've never used?"

"Yeah"

"That"

I pulled the card out of the case, looking at it and smiling. I couldn't find a use for it before. I'm sure he would be happier with someone else. I held him out for Jack, who grabbed it and put it in his pocket, putting his other hand into another and pulling out the card I wanted.

Solemn resolve. I picture of an angel and a demon back to back, just as Jack had told me. I was grateful to have this card, putting it into the case and closing it back up.

"Thanks Jack" I told him, returning to the my sombre state.

"If this is about Elendil, don't worry, Shit happens" he tried to comfort me.

"It's not that, it's what she said" I told him, looking at the crimson sky. "She said someone wants something powerful I have"

"What? The blade series?"

"I don't think it was, they could just be reprinted" I felt a drop of water hit my eye, followed by splashed on my legs. "I think it's something else"

"Well, what else do you have that someone could want?"

"The pentagram, the bracelets, the 'spirit sight'. The list goes on"

"Well, either way. Get some sleep. One, you look a mess, and two, you have a duel today"

"I know I need a rest, but if I oversleep or if Elendil wakes…"

"If either happens, I'll wake you up. Alright?"

I looked at Jack, yawning as I did so. Sleep was quickly starting to become the enemy, and I was losing the battle. I stood up, walking into the hospital. "Thanks" I spoke, getting to a bench and settling down for some much needed sleep.

* * *

So there's the swap. Huge Saturn which was never used, for Solemn resolve, which I think will be used a lot.

If anyone is keeping track of my deck apart from the one or two I know of. Then you're in for a bumpy ride later on.


	16. No rest for the wicked

Chapter 16:

No rest for the wicked.

I literally fell asleep straight away on the bench. That shadow game had taken a lot more out of me then I had thought, obviously. I heard some voices in the background. They sounded Like Darkblade, Silveneste and Lightblade.

I opened my eyes, finding that I was in the shadows again. The trio were standing around me, looking more fleshy then last time. They all smiled as they saw me awake.

"Welcome back" Darkblade told me, holding his hand out. I grabbed it; surprised I could grab it and actually feel it.

"Good to see you three" I told them, smiling as I got off the ground.

"We thought we might do some exploring" Lightblade told me, his armour had changed. This time it was leather with some steel poking out. "What? I thought it might throw the enemy off"

"Sure you did" Silveneste replied, rather sarcastically. I resisted the urge to laugh in order to look around.

The place was near enough the same as last time…well; it was as far as I could see (Not very far). I hoped to see something through the duel sight again…which didn't work again. I don't know how I could see Silveneste, Darkblade and Lightblade in this light.

"Hey Master" Lightblade started, walking over to me. I turned round to look at him. "Where do we go exactly?"

"I don't really know" I answered, looking around. I didn't bring up the master thing. "Last time I was here there was a light guiding me…along with Kuriboh"

"Oh, the hairy little thing was Kuriboh" Darkblade said, looking at me. "I was wondering what it was"

"You learn something new everyday" Silveneste told him, punching him on the back of the head.

I looked around, seeing some lights turn on again. This time they formed a twisting route instead of a straight route. We all looked at it, wondering where it leads. Lightblade stepped in front of me, holding his sword over his shoulder, his shield arm and off hand sword in front of him.

"I guess that's the way to go" Darkblade spoke, putting his sword over his shoulder. "Lightblade lead with Silveneste and Craig in the centre, I'll take the rearguard"

We all got into the formation, starting to walk through the darkness. We couldn't see anything beyond the path, so if anything was in the shadows we'd know nothing about it. Eventually, after a long walk, we reached the end of the path, nothing lit up at the end.

"How do we advance?" Darkblade asked, putting his sword in the ground and leaning on it.

"Well, seeing as though we're real, couldn't other monsters in Craig's deck aid us?" Silveneste asked.

"I might have something" I told them, looking through my deck. I pulled out magician of faith, summoning her out. She looked around, seeing the darkness. "Do you think you could give us a light?"

"I'll try" she replied, her voice sounding quite sweet and innocent.

She held her staff above her head, closing her eyes and chanting in some weird language. After a while, she opened her eyes and held the staff high, a light piercing through the darkness and showing us the surrounding area.

We were stood in a different area from last time. It was the fields of blood again, but different. In the middle was a silver sword in a pedestal and seemingly safe from the blood. We all looked around, seeing no one nearby. We all walked over to the blade, examining it.

"I think I know what that sword is" Darkblade spoke, getting closer. "You remember Excalibur's wrath?"

"Yes, it increases your attack points" I replied, looking at the blade. "You mean this is Excalibur"

"Yes, this is the blade of the holy"

I walked over to it, looking at it. If it was anything like the real legend, then it couldn't be pulled, unless it was pulled by the chosen one or something like that. Lightblade put one of his blades away, trying to pull the blade out. He failed, Darkblade giving it a go and the same thing happened. I looked at the magician, seeing her look at the blade in awe.

"So what should we call you?" I asked her. She looked at me, confused.

"I…don't know" she replied, looking slightly embarrassed. "You haven't given me a name master"

"Look, I'm not your master, all right" I told her, looking back towards the blade. "You pick your name, I don't mind"

She looked at the blade as Silveneste gave pulling it ago. She fell over backwards as she lost her grip, Darkblade and Lightblade laughing as she did so. The magician seemed to think of a name just then.

"Ruby" she told me. I looked back at her. "My name is Ruby"

"Well, Ruby, My name is Craig. It's nice to meet you" I replied, smiling. She smiled back. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, why don't you give the blade a tug?"

"Whatever you require master"

"It's Craig, not master, alright"

She nodded, passing me her staff and walking over to the blade. She stepped onto the pedestal, grabbing the hilt with both hands and concentrating. The blade seemed to slip away with each, disappearing as it was released. She started to fall over backwards.

I ran forwards, catching her before she fell. She was quite light for what she was. I looked her in the eye, seeing they were coloured blue. I put her on the ground; she stood up of her own accord, grabbing the staff back.

I looked at my deck, seeing a glowing card. I pulled it out, finding it was Excalibur's wrath. The image went from the blade being forced out of the pedestal to the blade being pulled by a magician. That was strange, it didn't happen before. I would have told the guys about this if it wasn't for the fact that I heard some movement nearby. I think the others heard it as well, as the two warriors stood in front of me, Silveneste notching an arrow.

Out of the shadows, Elendil walked out…well, I think it was Elendil, but something was off. She had a weird aura around her. I motioned for the guys to leave her unharmed, running over to her.

"Elendil" I said, getting closer. "What are you doing here?"

"Must…claim…power" she spoke, activating her duel disk. She ran at me, hoping to bash me with her duel disk.

"Woah" I moved my disk to block hers, kicking back and somehow making contact. "Elendil, what's going on?"

"Duel….duel…duel"

"She isn't in her own state of mind" Darkblade told me, walking to my side.

"That much is apparent" I replied, activating my disk.

"We're on it" Lightblade spoke. Each of the spirits disappeared, entering their cards.

I activated my duel disk, both of us drawing five cards. I looked at my hand, seeing scrap iron scarecrow, Dunames Dark witch, Double summon, Barrel Dragon and Bow Synchron. I stood looking at Elendil. She drew a card, looking quite vacant.

"Summon…Goblin…elite…attack…force" she spoke, placing the monster down on the field. The creatures were in attack mode. "Face down…turn end" she placed a face down card.

"Snap out of it Elendil" I spoke, drawing a card. Solemn resolve, a great way to start it off. "I summon Dunames Dark witch and play double summon to bring out Bow Synchron"

I placed the two monsters down, smiling as they walked out of the shadows. They both looked at the goblins, standing back in fright. "Relax, they won't hurt you" I pulled Solemn resolve out. "Now I activate Solemn resolve!" I shouted, pulling out the card and placing it in the spell and trap card zone. "Now I can Special summon a monster, so long as I meet the requirements and I don't have to sacrifice for it"

I pulled Barrel Dragon out of my hand, placing him on the field. "Barrel Dragon. Roar on this field of battle!" the mighty machine dragon appeared on the field, roaring as he aimed his guns. "And I activate his special effect, so I call your goblins as the target!"

The three coins appeared in front of me, I flicked each of them, looking at Elendil. "Whatever it is taking you over, I'll break it!" I shouted, seeing 3 heads on the coins. "Barrel Dragon, Artillery volley!" the dragon fired three shots, each hitting the goblin. "Now to end this! Dunames, Attack her with Blinding bolt flare!"

The witch held her hands like she was holding a ball, a ball of light forming in her hands. She threw the bolt at Elendil, who recoiled and took the damage. "Barrel Dragon, Tri barrelled volley!" the dragon roared, aiming the guns straight at the duellist. She took the damage, smiling as she did so.

"Would you sacrifice the life of this one?" I heard her say. She moved her hand, showing the angel wing. "If she should lose, she goes"

"That's unlikely" I told her, pointing at her. "Bow Synchron, fire at her with bolt of the four winds"

The crossbow woman loaded a bolt into her crossbow, aiming at Elendil. She fired, the bolt hitting Elendil's shield. She lost, falling on the ground.

"Must…fulfil… mission" she spoke, running at me with a dagger.

"Not likely" I spoke, the monsters disappearing. I kicked at her, trying to knock the dagger out of her hand. "Lightblade, I need your shield"

"You're welcome to it" he told me, a shield appearing on my arm. I moved it to block the weapon, feeling the strength and weight in both.

"Thanks"

I kicked at Elendil, feeling a strong gust of wind. I knew I was close to the end of this dream. Elendil tried one last attack. I blocked with my shield, bashing her with it at the same time.

Instead of what happened last time, with the wind blowing me away. I just woke up. I was in a cold sweat, but I knew I was alive. I looked at my arm, seeing the shield had gone…that was too coincidental to be a dream. Two in the same place involve the same deck.

"She's gone into Cardiac Arrest!" I heard a doctor shout. I got off the bench to investigate. The doctors were using that defibulator thing on Elendil. Her vitals were at 0. I put my face to the glass, hoping she would pull through.

Beep…beep…beep…beep. It was faint but it was there. She fought for life, trying to come round and answer…or so I thought anyway. I sat down on the bench, thankful she hadn't died. Something told she nearly died because of the duel…and I felt guilty because of it.

The duels from here would be getting worse, I just hoped we had enough to pull through the duels together.

* * *

Solemn resolve rules. i know that much. Bow synchron needed an outing on it's own.


	17. Justin’s chance for glory

I've set up a 5d forum, so if you want to join, it's Yugioh central in the 5D's area, alright? I'm working on it, so it's small at the moment.

Time skip.

And you'll have to excuse me if I've got a warrior here wrong

Chapter 17:

Final day of the first round. Part 1

Justin's chance for glory.

Over the first round we owned the competition of so called promising duellists. If they were so promising then they wouldn't have been beaten so easily. I did go to see how Elendil was doing, the thought of me putting her in that state running through my mind plenty of times.

Now it was the final day, we all had 29 wins and one last match…this time we were all in nice areas. The stadium, the port…the centre of town. Nicer areas then the recycling centre or the warehouse. We all woke up early, getting our things together and leaving to duel.

Seeing as though we had plenty of time in between the duels, we all decided to stay as long as possible with one person until they either won or the next match was starting. Justin was first off to duel in the stadium…lucky, he got the proper show.

We all walked through the streets, seeing the 'residents' getting ready for the victors ceremony, putting up banners and a 'ladder' thing that was used in tennis. (You know what I mean) it had some duellists names on; obviously some kind of exhibition was going to be on later. I didn't really pay attention, thinking that it didn't really matter much.

I looked through my sight, looking through the, now cluttered, mail box, opening the latest mail from James with match details. We were to go to the duel in 5 minutes…plenty of time.

"So how do you think the folks back home will react to us getting through?" I asked, looking between the guys. Jack didn't answer, nodding and smiling.

"Well, we're in an international tournament, I think well" Simon answered, looking through his deck. I was surprised that he hasn't struggled yet, I'll admit.

"Damn straight, we're going right to the end" Ryan replied, smiling. If only I shared his optimism.

"I'm sure we've made them proud" Justin continued, I saw his duel spirits floating next to him.

"We've had fun while we were here" Andrew echoed, smiling.

I nodded, smiling at his wisdom. We arrived at the stadium, walking in and seeing no crowd. Just two guys standing on the centre field. One was the referee, in his suit looking at the opponent; the other was a duellist wearing green all over…in a sense of strangeness, Link from Zelda comes to mind.

"Took you long enough" he spoke, looking at Justin. "Name's Tai, from Japan"

"You speak English very well" I complimented him, smiling.

"I learnt it long time ago"

"Really"

"Enough Talk" he activated his disk, smiling. "I'm here to win"

"Then you're out of Luck" Justin replied, walking onto the field and activating his disk. "I need to win this"

"As I do. One win means advancement"

"Same here"

They both drew 5 cards, looking at them before deciding what to do.

"Duel!" they both shouted at the same time. Tai drew a card, going first.

"Hai, I place a face down and place a monster in defence mode" he announces, placing the card. "Your move"

"Right then, my turn" Justin replied, drawing a card. How I wish I could see his hand.

"I place a monster down in defence mode and activate shield crush to destroy your facedown monster" Justin tells his opponent, placing the monster down and bringing out his spell. "I destroy your monster"

"Trap activates, Magic Jammer!" Tai shouts, revealing the trap. "So I discard one card to negate your spell"

I watch as the spell shatters on the field, Justin placing the card in the grave and looking quite serious. That clears the field of all spell and traps, so Justin has a small advantage.

"I end my turn" he announces, looking at Tai.

"My move" Tai replies, drawing a card. "And during my standby phase, my sinister serpent returns to my hand" he reaches into his grave, grabbing the card as it returns. "Now I place one monster face down and flip summon Isaac, Adept of Venus!"

He flips his face down over, revealing what looks like a young boy with blond hair and blue clothes. (4, 1300, 1500) "Now, Isaac, attack his face down with Odyssey strike"

His fighter holds his hand to his face, then slamming it down to the ground. Three golden swords appeared out of nowhere and struck Justin's facedown. It flipped to reveal Marshmellon.

"What?!" Tai starts, stumbling back a bit.

"Thanks, now take 1000 points of damage" Justin replies, pointing at Tai. The Japanese guy winces, looking at his life points.

"Way to go Justin!" I hear Andrew shout. I look at where he is, seeing him and the guys sitting in the stands. If this were in the Anime I would have a sweat drop on me and dash to join them…well, I do dash to join them.

"Turn endo" Tai replies…isn't that what they say in Japanese near enough.

"Then it's my move, Draw" Justin starts, looking at his card. "I summon Silent Magician in attack mode"

He places the monster on the field, letting the small mage rise up and look at Isaac. He span his staff in his hand, moving it to his left side and stopping it. I looked between Andrew and Justin, seeing them both smile.

"I'll end with a facedown" Justin finishes, placing the card down. I know he has his bases covered at this point. Good luck.

"My turn" Tai starts, drawing a card. The silent magician levels up. He smiles, seeing a good time. He looks at me, an evil glint in his eye. "You're not the only one with a strong spell. I set a spell down and play the spell Fields of Blood"

I stand up in my seat, seeing him play the card. The exact same image appears on the field. I thought there was only one fields of blood. He smiles as the effects starts.

"Chain spell, protection of the ancients" he continues, activating his spell. "Now we can choose to save one monster from the previous spell, as long as we pay the monsters attack points"

He points at his warrior, obviously choosing to save it. I saw his face down vanish and he took 1600 damage...Was that sinister serpent? Justin points at his mage, letting his Marshmellon be taken. He takes 1800 damage, which had to hurt. Tai continues. "I play solemn resolve to bring out Jenna, Flame adept!" I was surprised he had that card, the amount of times it was thrown around. A young girl holding a wooden staff and wearing baggy reddy clothes appeared. (3, 1200, 100) "And I summon Ivan, Avatar of the winds!"

A young boy with blond hair appears with a staff. He had a green cape on and was smaller then the other two. (2, 500, 1500) "And finally, I use quick summon to bring out Piers, master of the wild seas" a blue tunic wearing warrior came out, holding a sword in his hand. (3, 1600, 400)

The only monster that could beat the silent magician at the moment was 'Piers', but I was sure Justin had a counter to that. I was more worried about the fact that he had two of my cards in his deck…and both were powerful if used right. Tai's inexperience showed when he played it so early. He could have waited until level 7.

"Go Piers; destroy the mage with Diamond berg slash!" Tai commanded, pointing at the mage. The warrior raises his hand, an ice block falling down.

"Trap activates, Scrap iron scarecrow" Justin announces, the trap flipping up and the scarecrow appearing. The ice broke on the scarecrow, sending shockwaves and ice shards around the stadium.

"Cover!" I shouted. We bystanders…or rather, sitters, ducked under the concrete stand in front of us, avoiding a blast of cold air and…snow, oddly. When the blast was over, we peeked our heads back up, looking at the match. Justin and Tai were both unphased.

"My turn endo" Tai finished, shivering.

"Then it's my turn" Justin replied, drawing a card. He smiled as he saw it. "I set two facedowns and summon ebon magician Curran to the field in attack mode" the magician…looks more like a small girl…what with her black bunny ears and dress. She has a pink whip and…leave that train of thought Craig.

"I end there" Justin finished, moving his hand to his side.

"Hai" Tai replied, drawing a card. He smiled quite evilly as he looked at it. "first off, I get Sinister serpent back. Now Go, Sacred Sword Ragnarok!" he shouted. Everyone stood up at this…I'm sure that is a unique card. "Say goodbye to your silent mage"

The red blade appeared next to Tai, sword pointed towards the silent mage. It flew straight and true towards the mage, destroy her as it impacted.

"I chain that with two trap cards. Astral and Spirit barrier" Justin told his opponent, revealing the face downs…near enough a perfect defence had been made. "Now me and my monsters are immune to any harm"

"Which is easy to break with the right cards" Tai responds, pulling out a card. "I play birth of the golden sun!" he shouts, placing down the card. (The picture is basically a golden sun with four warriors around it) "With my four warriors on the field, I can tribute all of them to summon an even stronger one"

A golden shine starts to emanate from above the match, coming from a golden sun…Go figure. Isaac raises his sword, disappearing into a yellow trail of light. The other three do the same thing and disappear in their respective colours. "From the depths of the light of Alchemy; come forth, Fusion dragon!"

A massive dragon roared in the sky, flying down towards the field, its two heads each scanning the field. (8, 2500, 2000) it was a fearsome sight, I'll admit, but I wasn't the one facing it. Justin didn't actually look that bad.

"I'll end MY defence there" Tai finishes, pointing at Justin. "Not long until you lose and I advance"

"Not if I can help it" Justin responds, putting his hand on his deck. "You haven't let me down in the past…please don't fail me now"

He pulls a card out, moving his hand behind him in a wide arc, a red trail of light following it. I don't think the other guys noticed it as the fusion dragon roared at that exact moment. Justin looks at the card, smiling.

"First off, you take 300 points of damage due to Ebon magician Curran effect" he starts, the magician throwing a black ball at Tai (1100) "Next I summon Turbo Synchron and activate monster reborn to bring back Marshmellon" the green monster appears on the field, doing a little dance as it does, Marshmellon looks around as it returns.. "Now I tune Turbo Synchron with Marshmellon and Ebon Magician Curran"

The tuner jumps up, the other two monsters crowding together. The green ring appears and surrounds the pair, tuning them into stars. "My warrior of power strikes forth, send this duel into the next Level!" the bright light emanated from the monsters. "Synchro Summon. Turbo Warrior!"The red warrior appears in the light, spinning round and looking at the dragon, giving off a motion of laughter. "Turbo Synchron attacks your Fusion Dragon, and when he does your dragon has half its attack point value"

"What?" Tai moans, realising that's the last of his life points.

"Turbo warrior, finish this off with turbo blitz slam"

The warrior jumps up in the air, spinning around in the air. The dragon looks up, only one of its heads breathing fire at him. The warrior slams his fist down in a karate motion, going through the fire and the flames.

He hits the dragon, destroying it completely. Tai yells as his points dwindle down to zero. The holograms disappear, the victor putting his deck back in one piece. We all left the stands.

"That's one of us through then" Andrew spoke, smiling as he ran up to his friend.

"And that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be" Justin told us, smiling as he exchanged hi-fives with his friend.

"Nice work" Jack said simply, smiling.

"I guess we've got a lot of work to do" Simon spoke, looking round.

"We'll make it Simon" Ryan told him, smiling. "We're the best group here"

"Besides, the black knight isn't going to fall that easily" I told them, referring to my title. Darkblade appeared in front of me, nodding. "Anyway" I accessed the mail box, checking our schedule. "Next match is Ryan's in the…subway"

"I thought you said they were all good locations"

"I thought they were, besides, Yusei's home is in the subways"

We all walked out, laughing and joking about the duels to come and the duels we had survived.

* * *

Justin is clear for the next round

Ryan's up next, will he prevail?

Find out in the next chapter of 'pathway to darkness'

And please visit the forum, if only for a laugh or to join seriously.


	18. even better

I must apologise for not updating lately. I've been working on my other stories and haven't really thought about this one.

Chapter 18:

Final day of the first round part 2

Even better

We were overjoyed at Justin's win...heck, who wouldn't be when one of your friends win an important match. We walked through the town, everyone patting him on the back and telling him how good he was in that duel. I scrolled through a few menus on the sight, seeing a few messages stockpiled up.

I reopened the message about our matches. Ryan was up next, playing in the centre of town. Could be entertaining I suppose. I looked through the other messages…Damn, SPAM!!!!!!!!! How did they find my email account on this thing? One was not spam, a message from home.

"Ok, first up, Ryan, you're up in the centre" I announced, looking at my friend and seeing him nod. "Secondly, I hate spam mail, which is odd as this is a new account just for this helmet"

"Craig, have you been on youtube again?" Simon asked. I shifted my eyes from side to side.

"No…" I lied, rather meekly. I had been on once…twice…three….couple…hell of a lot of times. But then again, I did like some of the songs that I couldn't download…within temptation for instance. "But moving on, shouldn't we be moving?"

"What's got you so eager?" Andrew asked, looking at me quite suspiciously.

"Nothing, I just want to see Ryan win. And, to be honest, I want to see what the next round is going to be like" I answered…it was not the whole truth, but it was true to say the least. I wanted to see who was behind the attacks…and why I seemed to be the focus.

Everyone just agreed, walking on. I hung back, scratching my chin and thinking for a bit. Ruby appeared next to me, looking at me in wonder.

"What is wrong, Master?" she asked, I looked at her quite sternly. "I mean Craig"

"That's better" I replied, smiling. "I don't understand something"

"What would that be?"

"If what James said about these attacks is true, then does that mean I am 'Champion bound'?"

"Everyone has a chance at being a champion; you just have a better chance then others"

I laughed a bit at this; I could see why I had a better chance then others. I had a strong deck for one. I had my friends behind me and, as far as I knew, 4…wait…7 duel spirits in my deck, counting Darkblade, Silveneste and Lightblade's second forms.

"I've got as much chance at winning as the others do" I told her, smiling. "We've all got strong decks, and we believe in each other" I crossed my arms, walking forward a bit. "I wouldn't be surprised we all make it to the finals, but I want to be the on to take on J.W and knock him down a few pegs"

The magician nodded, disappearing as Jack turned to look back at me. I walked by him, smiling.

"You ok Craig?" he asked me, following alongside.

"Never been better, why?" I replied, looking at him.

"It's just you've changed while you've been here"

"I've had too, in order to fight of the shadow games in future" I was confused at this; I didn't think I had changed. "How have I changed?"

"You just seem more…serious"

"I don't think so" I put my hands behind my head, looking at the sky and smiling. "I think I'm the same old Craig"

"I'm sorry if I sound rude…" he started again, looking at the ground.

"Don't worry, mate. I hadn't noticed any change at all" I put my thumb up to him, smiling even more. "Thanks for letting me know"

Justin, Andrew, Ryan and Simon had all stopped to let us catch up. They were still talking, mainly about how we were slow compared to them. Everyone around us started talking about the sky and something was going to happen. We raised our heads, looking at the sky.

I could make out a white speck falling down towards, and then it landed on my sight. Snow, the white stuff had finally started falling in Satellite. It was quite heavy for what it was, but not windy. All of us looked around, wondering if we were imagining things.

"Snow?" I asked, not sure if it was what I thought it was. I saw the others do the same…in about 5 seconds; the floor was covered with enough snow for a few snowball fights. I ran to the nearest building, taking cover indoors. While I would normally be in the middle of the fight, I thought it would be best to avoid this one. I looked out through a window, seeing Andrew getting one ready, along with Simon.

"Ready?" he asked Simon, who just nodded in response. "Ryan, Justin"

"Yes" the pair replied, turning round and looking at the other pair, snowballs flying into their faces. I could see the first team laughing a bit, giving each other high fives then getting pelted with snow. I laughed a bit, knowing my bit of cover would keep me safe…for now.

"This looks familiar" Darkblade spoke, appearing at my side. Lightblade on the other with Silveneste near. "We used to do things like this didn't we?"

"Yeah, those were good time" Lightblade replied, smiling. "I remember pelting you in the face with a huge one"

"I remember getting you both with a torrent" Silveneste bragged, trying to beat Lightblade.

"But you did use wind magic, so that doesn't really count now does it?"

"True"

"Do you guys mind if I ask probably a personal question?" I started, looking between the pair.

"Don't see the harm in it" Darkblade replied, the other two nodding in agreement.

"I get the idea that you two…" I pointed at the two swordsmen. "…are brother. But where do you come in Silveneste?"

"It's a good question with a simple answer" she replied, smiling. "I grew up in the same village as these two, even though they were practically outcasts for being 'demonically touched'" she looked outside, smiling as she saw the kids laughing outside. "I think I wanted to help these guys, as I could connect with them, seeing as though we have blood we shouldn't have"

"Which brings up another question" I started up again, looking between them. "How did you know you had your blood?"

"When a wing comes out your back and your right arm sets aflame with your right eye giving out flames you tend to notice" Darkblade answered, seemingly patronising.

"I just noticed weird urges like kill someone or drink some blood or things like that" Lightblade answered, scratching his back.

"I kinda have the same reason as Darkblade, but with the left side and angel stuff" Silveneste answered, smiling.

"So that's basically it?" I asked, seeing them nod. "No family tragedies, no epic adventure, no prophecy, nothing" they shook their heads as I listed these. "Oh, fair enough"

"Anyway, you had better get moving" the demon warrior told me, standing up. "Your friend has a match to win"

"Good point. I'll see you guys later"

They all disappeared after that. I walked out, seeing the quadruple snow ballers turned into about 2000, most of them inhabitants. I somehow got through without getting hit, getting the guys together and moving on to our next match.

* * *

Merry Christmas everyone.


	19. Glory for the winner, Ryan's battle

Right, I have an excuse for being late with this; I got 'struck down' with a bad case of sickness. Best if I don't go into detail, alright.

Any who, on with the duels!

Anyone mind if it's short? I hope not

* * *

Chapter 19:

Final day of the first round part 3

Glory for the winner

Ryan's battle.

We found our way into a snow covered town/city centre, seeing Ryan's opponent, a guy who looked oddly like a ninja, standing with his duel disk ready. We already had a crowd gathering, ready to watch. We all looked at Ryan, smiling.

"You ready to rock?" I asked him, seeing him look a bit nervous as he looked back at me.

"Of course" he replied, smiling. "I'm not going to be the first of this group to be out of this tournament, even if it's the…"

"We get the picture" Simon interrupted, shaking his head. I was thankful he interrupted Ryan there, as I think we could see where he was going.

"Sorry"

"Ryan, while you're here, please cut down on the language" I begged him, doing my jacket up.

"I'll try"

"Right then, shouldn't you get started" I told him, smiling and patting him on the back.

"Yeah, and I win, even if the bastard does use dirty tricks" he replied, running over to the duel…we just ignored his swearing, but then again, it was Ryan.

When he got over to the opposite side to the Ninja, he activated his disk, letting it unfurl. They both drew five cards, starting the duel off. The guys and I got into a good spot, watching from the sides between the two.

"Duel!" they both shouted, looking through their cards. I looked at Ryan, seeing confidence in his eyes…You can do this buddy, just keep a level head.

"I'll make the first move if you don't mind" Ryan announced, drawing a card, he looked at it, smiling. "First off, I play a monster face down on the field in defence and two face downs" he places down said cards and moves his right/disked arm to his left side and leaving his left arm free. "Your move"

The guy stays silent, drawing a card, he looked at it once, putting it into his hand and taking a different card out, placing it on the field spell zone. The card appears, flipping up…Fusion gate! The green and black mist surrounds the area with a black cloud over head the pair. Ryan looks at it in amazement, as does everyone else. Me, Justin, Jack, Andrew and…well, Simon to a lesser extent, weren't as captivated, looking at the duel more then the spell. The 'Ninja' pulls three cards out of his hand and puts them into a pocket in his garb.

A roar echoes on the field, going outwards. Then three balls of light appear, rising into the black cloud with an even louder roar as they did so. Then it appeared, first off a massive blue/white claw, followed by another, then a massive bluish body with wings and three heads, each with a pair of white eyes. Everyone gasped as they looked upon the monster.

"It can't be…" I gasped, moving a bit forward.

"Blue eyes Ultimate Dragon" Jack calmly tells us, smiling. "To get that card out on the first turn is an impressive feat"

"A little less complementation if you would" I told him, looking at him.

"Ryan's in for a tough duel" Simon solemnly tells us, looking a bit upset. "Man, I wanted to be the one that knocks him out"

"A duel's not over until the last card is played" Justin quotes…GX wasn't it with Jaden/Judai?

"He has a chance, but his deck has to be ready to brace for a massive strain" Andrew echoes, smiling. "This is where we see if he has what it takes to win"

I silently agreed, turning back to the duel. Our 'Ninja friend' pulled a fifth card from his hand, silently placing it on the field…MegaMorph. Blues eyes now has 9000 atk points. I look at Ryan, seeing him step back in surprise.

"Neutron blast attack…" the 'Ninja' orders. The Dragon starts charging up the attack, the megamorph rune appearing in front of it. The dragon fires, the blast getting enlarged by the rune and the blast hitting Ryan's face down monster, destroying it instantly. Ryan, along with everyone else, gets pushed back by the force of the blast. I crouch down, my jacket billowing in the wind and all the 'snow' getting blown around.

Once the dust settles (Pardon the pun if you see one), I looked back at the duel, seeing Ryan still braced, moving his hands out of his face. I'm just thankful that was a powered up blue eyes, not F.G.W or whatever it's called. You know the one with 5 dragon heads.

Anyway, I digress. Ryan looks visibly shaken by the attack. His arms shaky as he moves to draw a card. I felt a bit of moral support was in order.

"You can do it Ryan!" I shout, stepping forward a bit. Everyone looks at me as if I've gone mad. "Just trust in your cards and let them lead you to victory"

He just nods in response, settling down a bit and drawing a card…he calms fully…in fact he smiles as he sees the card, looking at me and giving me a thumbs up.

"First off, I play my face down" he announces, revealing it…Monster reborn "With it, I can bring a monster back to the field from the grave" he swings his arm round, pointing at one space. "So return, Exiled Force!"

The six soldiers return to the field, each one armed and ready, one smiles as he sees the dragon before him. "Next, I summon Copycat from my hand" the magician, who, oddly, has no face, yet owns a mirror, appears on the field next to the soldiers. What does he want a mirror for if he can't see himself? "And now, due to his ability, I call your blue eyes, and he get the original attack points, so 4500 for my monster"

The magician says some weird chant and the dragon appears in the mirror. "And I tribute my Exiled Force to destroy your Blue eyes"

"Trap activate….Ninjitsu veil" the Ninja tells us, showing a trap card with ninja's going around stealthy. "One effect negated and monster destroyed.

"Chain trap, Seven tools of the bandits" Ryan replied, revealing the second face down. "So I lose 1000 life points, but negate your trap"

Everyone gasps, looking at the ninja. He remains emotionless as his dragon is shot with six arrows. Both monsters disappear, leaving Ninja boy wide open. "Copycat, attack him with Neutron Clone!"

The magician thrusts the mirror forward and a neutron blast comes straight out of it, hitting the ninja and sending him flying backwards as his life points dwindle. Everyone starts cheering as Ryan runs over to us. He all gave him high fives, smiling even more.

"One short duel in the bag" I told him.

"And a crap on at that" he replied, proudly…he could afford to be.

"Blue eyes is tough normally, but that combo made him stronger" Simon said, walking towards Ryan. "Remember you beat an unbeatable"

"And remember who's up next" Andrew told us…it was him in the outskirts near the 'incomplete bridge'.

"I guess we move out then" I spoke, everyone nodding. "Off we go"

* * *

Can someone explain something to me? How does Joey play Copycat as a spell card in season one? And I mean duellist kingdom not that strange season zero. *shivers*

And if there wasn't a pun to find, oh well.

* * *

Ryan's secured his right to advance, Will andrew do the same with his deck of darkness? Find out next time on Yugioh: Pathway to Darkness. ((By god, it sounds like a digimon ending))


	20. Andrew's 'dark' duel

Last week I made myself a challenge: to update this once every week UNLESS I have a good reason not to. And so far…I failed…miserably. So I made a new challenge to pass: update this every TWO weeks

Ok, I'll be honest, once I get to the finals where the 'heroes' face each other, the duels will be longer, more then one chapter definitely for them.

* * *

Chapter 20:

Andrew's 'dark' battle

We soon arrived at the old bridge, the snow had melted by now and the maintenance crews were busy clearing it up. We saw some guy standing around, a guitar strapped to his back with blond spiked hair. He looked like your average guitarist if it weren't for the fact he had a disk on his arm.

"You ready to go?" I asked Andrew, looking at him.

"I am" he replied, running forward and activating his disk.

"Good Luck!" Ryan shouted after him. I looked at Simon, seeing him looked quite serious about this. Justin saw it as well.

"Relax, Andrew's a good duellist" he told Simon, smiling. I kept looking at him, wondering what was going on.

"I know, but I was just thinking" Simon started. I resisted the urge to say 'careful'. "You remember Elendil?"

"I WAS trying to forget" I told him, looking at the ground. Hey, I had her on my conscience for what happened.

"She had that weird glowing tattoo on her arm during your duel. I was just thinking about what it could be"

"Simon, if any of the options that came up in your head involve any of the anime clichés, then take it out. I doubt it will have anything to with 'shadow magic' or 'signers' or 'chosen duellists'. Only real cliché I'll take is duel spirits"

"And why would that be?" Ryan asked, looking at me. "You didn't seem to believe in any of the Yugioh stuff, so how would you explain the, so called, shadow duel you had with her?"

"Lights and mirrors" I told him, smiling. "And then the holograms fill in the rest"

"And why do you believe in Duel spirits then?"

I was kinda surprised he asked this, as I really shouldn't have been since I knew someone would ask and I'd have to explain at some stage. I hoped it would have been asked at a later point in the coming months, but then again, I would have to explain the disappearances, the insane moments (Like talking to 'myself') and the way I refer to most of my cards as people. (But then any good duellist would if he truly believed in them in my opinion). I think Justin could sense my surprise, moving in between me and Ryan.

"If you think about, the duel spirits could be real" he reasoned. Ryan turned his attention towards Justin. "Just because we can't see them doesn't mean they aren't real. And besides, everyone has their own set of beliefs…"

"Like I always say, each to their own" I interrupted, looking serious"

"Exactly, so while the shadow games are real to one, duel spirits are real to another"

"That makes sense I suppose" Ryan replied, looking at the ground. "fair enough, I'll leave it at that"

He turned round to watch Andrew's duel. I sighed in relief, patting my chest. Justin Turned round, smiling at me.

"Thanks" I told him, my Duel spirits appearing next to me and showing their gratitude as well.

"You're welcome" he replied, Dark magician, Dark magician Girl, Kuriboh and winged Kuriboh appearing at his side, each smiling. Were those his duel spirits.

We looked back at Andrew, seeing him and his opponent draw their starting hands, both saying 'Duel' as they got started. Andrew, in a state of joy I presume, drew a card to get started. His opponent was, literally, what you'd expect a royal guard soldier at Buckingham to be like, even the uniform. I had a mental laugh as I considered what his boss might be saying at this moment:

"I do so hope that that young chap does return to ones work station after his holiday" or something like that.

"Right then" Andrew spoke, looking at his hand. "I play a monster face down and end my turn" he placed said card down, it appeared on the field.

"Draw!" the 'guard' shouted, drawing a card off his old looking disk. He looked at the cards, smiling. "I play Royal Levies"

He placed the magic card on the field, the card showing several, farmers I thing, getting pitchforks and running to war. I saw the guy look through his hand for useful cards. "Now, if I have any cards in my hand with 'royal' in its name, I an special summon it. So come forth Royal archer, Royal gunner, Royal soldier and Royal knight!"

The four royal soldiers appeared, each one looking the part of an English soldier. The archer (level 4, 1200, 500) held what I think is a long bow and a beautiful quiver on his back. The gunner (4, 1500, 200) holding a musket and bullets in a pouch on his side. The soldier (2, 1200, 1200) held a spear and wore proper plate armour like Darkblade's except red, and the knight…well, more horse and knight (5, 1600, 2000), had red plate armour all over, the knight holding a long golden lance and a large shield with the English standard…you know, the three lions.

"Ok, I don't think anyone saw that coming" I admitted, looking at Andrew. He was smiling.

"The second effect of this card means that I can only attack with one monster this turn" the 'guard' told Andrew, smiling. "So Royal knight, attack his face down with Chivalry of the Middle ages!"

The Horse stood back on its hind legs. The Knight raising his lance above his head. The horse went back down to the ground, charging forward with the knight spearing the face down card. Big eye appeared, then shattered.

"Thanks for that" Andrew said to his opponent, smiling. "Now I can look at my top five cards and rearrange them how I wish" the five cards flipped out of his deck, appearing in front of him in the air, growing to the size the card normally looked like when they were played.

"Right, put that there" he started, the card on his far left moving to the far right, the rest stacking along. "That one can stay where it is, as can the next one along, then the one on the end swaps with the one before" the cards moved around into there order before going back into the deck, shrinking back to their normal size. I noticed the slight hologram failure as the cards shuffled at the top.

"I end my turn there" the guard told Andrew, standing as a proper guard should. I've never been to London, but looking at this guy makes me want to. Aren't they supposed to not talk…evil scheme formulating…No Craig, leave it.

"Draw" Andrew states; drawing a card, he looked at it, unsurprised at what he drew due to Big Eye.

"Right, first off I play Dark blade in attack mode" he announces, the warrior appearing on the field, swinging its sword around. "Next, I place a facedown and activate Mystic plasma zone!"

The card appears on the field, the whole duel area getting covered in a black fog with odd blue balls of light bounding around the place. It did look quite good, I'll be honest, but then, there has to be something…odd about them. I'll bet that if they were real they'd burn you up if you touch them.

"So, any dark monster on the field gains 500 attack points so long as they lose 400 defence points, so now, Dark Blade has 2300 attack points" I watched as the creature gained the points, getting more savage and slamming it's blade into the ground. A bit of it's armour flew off as it lost the defence points. (1100) the armour hit one of the weird balls, disintegrating…well, that answers that question.

"Go, Dark Blade, destroy the knight with Dark Slash!" Andrew shouted. Dark blade complied, running at the knight and slashing at him. The horse died first, hit by the blade as the knight himself jumped off. He wasn't actually that lucky as the blade flew upwards and hit him in the head, both shattering. Dark blade ran back o his position, holding his arm out and a blade coming out of the energy.

_Updates_

_Andrew 4000: Darkblade, Mystic plasma zone, one face down_

'_Guard' 3300: Royal archer, Royal gunner, Royal soldier_

"Back to my turn" The 'guard' spoke, drawing a card. He looked annoyed at what he had gotten, but still looked like he had a plan. "First, I play monster reborn to bring back my knight" the knight reappeared on the field, the 'guard' putting the spell in the grave. "And now, I play the spell royal march" the card appears on the field, showing a king donning battle armour. "So now, with the four royal cards on the field, I can bring out Royal leader, William!"

The four royal monsters bowed, their leader running from behind his owner and stopping in front of his monsters. He held a magnificent golden spear and a sword in his off hand. His armour was blood red with the odd tinge of silver and his hair was controlled white. (8, 2300, 2500)

"Ok, so far I get the idea that his deck is based on royalty and that his cards loo like English soldiers past" I spoke, scratching my head. "So how come he hasn't brought out an old friend of the English crown?"

"I'm getting to that Sir, with this" he answered, placing a card down on the field. "Excalibur's sacred wielder!" the card appeared on the field, the picture of someone holding the blade on my card with the same first name. "I equip it to William, so now, every monster on my field has the same attack points as him" I watched the sword swap to a golden sword, like the one that would be equipped to my monsters, except this time, the other monsters raised their weapons, I believe the term is, gaining morale, and attack points.

"So now William, lead the charge to destroy Dark Blade…"

"Go Negate attack!" Andrew shouted, revealing the trap. "Attack and battle phase ended"

"I end my turn"

"Good, I draw" Andrew drew a card, looking at it and smiling. "I play Lightning Vortex, so I discard a monster and your field is wiped clean!"

I watched as he smiled, discarding a monster. Lightning shot out, hitting and destroying all the monsters on 'Guard''s side of the field. I smiled at the thought that Andrew just toppled the greatest military of the old days…look, I'm English, I can say it as it's not going against anything…except the Mongols…MAN they were good.

"Next, I summon Strike Ninja to the field" a cloud of black smoke appeared on the field, clearing to show the ninja in question, he was affected by the field spell, going up to 2200 attack points. "Strike ninja; attack him directly with shuriken strike"

The ninja obliged, throwing a star shaped object at the 'guard'. It hit him in the leg, but he stayed standing. (1100) "Dark blade, finish with Dragon god slash" the monster took his helmet off, revealing the face of a dragon. He charged at his opponent, flames spinning around his blade as he did so.

The blade connected. The duel ending as 'guard' lost all of his life points. Andrew punched the air in happiness as he won, putting his deck back in order and running over to us. Justin gave him a high five, the rest of us applauding him.

"THAT is the power of Dark blade" he told me, looking at me at the time. "Think your deck could keep up the pace"

"Easily" I told him, smiling. "Besides, that seemed a little too easy if you know what I mean"

"No, I just won"

"Fair enough"

"Enough Chit Chat, where are we next?" Simon asked, putting his arms in one of those businessman poses you get on WarioWare (this here is mona's pizza………sorry)

"Let's see" I replied, booting up the duel sight. I saw about 5 new mail pieces, 4 from SPAM addresses, one saying duel time and place. I opened it. "Simon in the…subway tunnels"

"Great, time to see where Life Bond gets me today"

Most of the guys walked off, except me and Justin…you know, even though I haven't known him long, He knows what I'm going through…I feel I've known him ages.

"Thanks for earlier" I told him.

"No problem, you'll tell them when you're ready" he replied, walking over to me. "So how long have you known?"

"Not long, about a month or so, the day Simon and Ryan had a match at the same time and I missed it. Yourself?"

"Same, few months"

"And does Andrew…"

"Yeah…he knows. He's my best friend and he was the first one I told"

"And that was?"

"Not long before the tournament started"

"So we're connected in that sense"

"Seems so"

I heard a groan to my left, looking and seeing Lightblade kneeling. Darkblade was trying to help him, Silveneste and Ruby doing what they could. I ran over to them, Justin doing the same.

"You ok Lightblade?" I asked him, concerned for him.

"Yeah…I've been…worse" he replied, sounding weak.

"This happens every time he goes near one of those zones" Darkblade explained, looking at me. "The high amount of pure energy weakens him and can kill him if he stays around it too long"

"We just have to do a bit of medical duty" Silveneste told me and Ruby.

"Maybe we could help" I heard another voice speak, looking towards it and seeing Dark Magician behind Justin. "Master, should I?"

"Should we rather" Dark Magician girl corrected, appearing opposite the Dark Magician.

"Could you two help them heal Lightblade for us?" Justin asked them. They both nodded, moving over to Lightblade and setting to work.

"Thanks" Darkblade spoke, all of the duel spirits vanishing. I looked at Justin, still concerned for Lightblade.

"Thanks"

"Don't mention it, you'd do the same if you could" he replied, putting his thumb up.

"True, but then again, Ruby might be able to help in future, given time of course"

"Either way, we better get moving, Simon's got a duel soon and we don't want to miss it"

"Again, true. Lets roll"

We both ran after the group, hoping not to miss this match. Elendil Hung on my conscience, I think, if I have time, I'll go visit her after this match.

* * *

I may have misspelt conscience. Anywho, one of the blades weaknesses, mystic plasma zones OF DEATH. Anywho, Simons up next, and will win (I hope)

Starting challenge again now


	21. Simon's trust duel

Announcement: ok, I really need to get my deck in order now. This is hopefully the last time I do one of these. My deck is getting a change of the following.

4 cards added in (one synchro, one tuner, one spell, one monster)

Change of one card to better resemble the matter of my spirits.

Please say I have time, please say I have time

damn changes, seems i went over a rule. sorry

* * *

Chapter 21:

Simon's bonds of trusts.

We got to the old subway tunnels, seeing the tracks set out and Simon's opponent waiting for him. This guy looked like a priest…no, seriously, he looks like a priest. More Pope, but still, it's a priest. He had a disk on his arm.

"You ready to go?" I asked Simon, stopping and looking at him.

"Bring it" he replied, walking a bit faster then us, activating his disk.

"Lets make it a perfect run" Ryan told him, everyone raising their hands and saying 'yeah'

"So you came, son of man" the 'priest' started, activating his disk. "Then, under the eyes of god, thou shalt be judged in the crusades of the duel land"

"Did anyone understand that?" Andrew asked. I smiled, turning towards him.

"Basically 'welcome, let's begin and see if you can win in this duel'" I translated. He nodded as I said that.

"Well, son of the warrior, you seem to know well the old ways of tongues" the 'priest' complimented.

"I've learnt my fair share, father, but really, I just like learning about the medieval age"

"Well, thou hast learnt much I presume"

"I've learned a lot, yeah, but aren't you meant to be duelling right now?"

He looked at me, then Simon, who had drawn his cards and would have had a sweat drop on him if this were an anime. The 'priest' drew 5 cards, looking at his hand.

"My move then" Simon announced, drawing a card. He smiled as he looked at it. "Go, Lustre angel!" an angel, clothed in cloth with a massive white sword in his hand, took to the field (3, 2000 200) it looked strong to say the least. "Next I play living magic" the card appeared and flipped up, showing a staff moving of its own accord. "So now, I can draw two cards a turn instead of one, I'll finish with a facedown and end my turn"

"My turn begins. Let the lord guide my hand" the 'priest' said, drawing a card. "The lord hath graced me with this card. go, Muka Muka" the priest set the card down, the bug like creature appearing on the field. "For every card I hold in my hand, the creature gains 300 glorious points from his lord to attack and defence"

The bug got enveloped in mist, its attack going to 2100 and defence to 1800…Simon didn't look worried. "Next, I play a pot of greed, so my hand increases by two cards" he placed said card in the grave, drawing two cards, Muka Muka gaining an additional 300 (2400, 2100) "And now, I'll activate 5 mage power cards and equip them to him" While, yes, he did lose 1500 attack points, but it gained…what was it, 500 per spell card on the friendly side of the field, so 2500…15000 (so first off 900, 600 then 15900, 15600)

I whistled as I figured out that calculation in my head, everyone looking at me as if I had broken a moral code.

"What?" I asked them, looking between them. "15900 attack and 15600 defence points are QUITE a lot"

"Good point" Ryan replied, looking back to the duel. "But at least let us work that out before the whistle"

"Fine"

"Will you two shut up!" Simon shouted at us. We were both surprised at Simon yelling at us, but then again, it was his duel.

"Sorry"

"That's better"

"Muka Muka, attack Lustre Angel with Infuriating fog" the 'priest' ordered, the creature starting to advance.

"Thank you" Simon calmly told his opponent, throwing his hand towards the facedown. (Not literally) "Go, Saviour Angel!"

The trap flipped up, the angel appearing in front of Muka Muka, its sword held at its side. The blade was lifted upwards, the angel spinning on the spot as it dragged the blade through the cloud, killing Muka Muka. The 'priest' looked surprised.

"What hast thou done to my creature?" the 'priest' asked, looking at Simon for an answer.

"Simple, Saviour Angel destroys one attacking monster" Simon explained, I took that to mean I didn't need to translate. "So you Muka Muka is down and you're wide open"

"Damn thy soul. Doest thou see no reason!"

"I do, I fight for one, and for now, I fight to stay in with my friends"

"Then finish this duel with thy glorious intent"

"Glady" Simon drew a card, looking at it. "Alright, first off, I summon Elencia, Archon of honour" he placed the monster down on the field, surprisingly, it was a warrior. A woman cavalier dressed in white royal armour and long green hair draping down her back held a longsword while riding a pegesi. (4, 1500, 1200) "And with her effect, she gains the attack points of the other monsters on my side of the field" (3500) "And I continue with Bonds of Trust"

He pulled the spell card out, placing it on the field. It showed three friends standing back to back, fighting off whatever was coming towards them. "I equip it to Lustre Angel, who now gains the attack points of the other monsters on my side of the field" the angel looked at the warrior, both smiling at each other and, I guess, trusting each other. Lustre angel gained 1500 attack points (3500). "So Lustre Angel, attack him directly with trusted strike!"

The angel threw the blade at his target. The blade missed first off, spinning behind the target and coming back like a boomerang, hitting the target from behind. The 'priest' felt it, kneeling down as it bang into him. The angel looked at the archon, nodding. "Elencia, attack with Pegasi trust strike"

The pegasi did a back flip, flying towards the target. The archon swung her blade around, bringing it down hard upon the priest when he was in range. The guy lost all of his lifepoints, kneeling down as he admitted defeat.

"And trusted bonds win again" Simon spoke, resetting his deck and letting the disk move back to a neutral position, the monsters disappearing. He turned round to us, smiling. "Easy win"

"And a perfect run so far" Ryan told him, the pair giving each other a high five.

"And another one through" I told him. We gave each other high fives at this. I was amazed so far that we didn't need our synchros much so far (1/4)

"Moving on, when's the next duel?" Jack asked, everyone looking at me.

"It is your match next" Justin told me.

"Oh yeah, and we need a perfect run" Andrew echoed, smiling.

"Lets see" I told them, looking at the time sheet. "Two hours…perfect"

"Why do I have a feeling you're going to do something?" Simon asked, shaking his head.

"I'm going to go check on Elendil, see if she's alright"

"Why? She tried to hurt us, steal the cards and send you to the shadow realm"

"I can't help but think she's a plot character"

"Plot character?"

"Think of this like the anime, doesn't it seem odd how someone loses a shadow game but survives intact?"

"Good point"

"Look, either way, we have time" Justin interrupted, looking between us. "I for one want something to do for two hours"

"Thanks" I started walking away, leaving them behind me, but stopping after a while. "Whoa, déjà vu"

"What?" Ryan asked

"I swear I've seen this scenario before"

"And what happened then?" Andrew asked

"We went straight to the duel, falling into a trap and being knocked out"

"Well, I guess we better go to the hospital then" Simon told us, everyone agreeing.

"Let's go"

* * *

Ok, slight confession here, I did have a bit of déjà vu when writing this chapter, weird. Anywho, the 'new cards' get involved next chapter, no duel but just the new cards appearing. (blade series FTW)


	22. More Cliches

Chapter 22: MORE clichés

We went to the hospital, just like I wanted to, hoping to check on Elendil and hopefully get some answers. We walked in, seeing the receptionist and a few benches spare. I looked at the guys behind me.

"You guys don't mind waiting here do you?" I asked them, looking around them.

"Sure" Jack answered, walking over to a bench and sitting down.

"How come?" Ryan and Simon asked at the same time.

"I need to do this…alone" I told them, respectfully. Darkblade and company appearing alongside me…you four can come along

"I still don't get it" Ryan told me. Simon took a seat and started going through his cards. "Why is this something you have to do alone?"

"She was after my cards and used you guys to try and get me to give them to her" I told them, looking even more serious. "She told me before that someone hired her to get something powerful from me…and then wanted the cards like I said" I raised my arm, showing them the disk. "I'm not about to let anyone take my cards, and I want to know why she hurt you guys"

"You're not going in on your own" Andrew told me, stepping forward. Justin moving in front of him.

"How about this you two…" Justin started, moving so he stood next to me. "I'll go with him, so that if anything happens, he's got back up. Would that be ok?"

"I guess so" Ryan replied, crossing his arms and looking annoyed. "If anything happens…"

"It won't" I told him, smiling. "If it does, we'll handle it"

"Alright. Go and do…whatever" he walked over to a bench, sitting next to Simon and sitting almost apprehensively.

"What about you Andrew?" Justin asked his friend, I looked at Andrew, wondering what he would say.

"Fine, just be careful"

I watched as he joined the bench near Ryan, the pair talking about something which we didn't really pay attention to. Me and Justin looked at each other and nodded, looking back at the receptionist and walking over to her.

"Excuse me" I started, stopping in front of the lady, Justin next to me. The woman raised her head from her daily paper…the sudoku/puzzle page open. She looked at us lazily as if she couldn't give two…you know the rest.

"Welcome to Satellite general hospital, how can I help you?" she asked us, putting a pen down.

"We're here to see Elendil" Justin told her, taking the words out of my mouth. The receptionist pointed at the elevator.

"Floor 5, ward 2, side A"

"What? Is that meant to be a cassette tape or something?" I joked, no one laughing. "Never mind, Thanks"

We went into the elevator, pressing the button for the 5th floor and standing inside. The door closed rather slowly, as if it wanted us to have a dramatic wait for it. Our duel spirits appeared next to us.

"I don't like this" Darkblade commented, crossing his arms. "I don't think Elendil will want to talk to us"

"True, Darkblade, but for all we know, she might have answers" I told him. Justin looked at me oddly.

"What are you on about?" he asked me. I looked back at him, looking serious again.

"It's complicated"

"And hiding Duel Spirits isn't"

"True"

"Look, sir" the Dark Magician started, his staff by his side. "If you're hiding something, now might be the best time to tell it to my master"

"I'm not your master" Justin told him…must be odd having nameless cards. What do you call them when talking casually?

"He does have a point, Craig" Ruby told me…I did see said point.

"Damn straight he has a point" Dark Magician girl told her, holding her wand towards her. "If you're hiding something evil towards our master, I will not hesitate to break you down" Lightblade drew his sword and an axe…why not his shield?

"Your hand would be missing before you finished your chant" he threatened her, holding his axe firmly.

"Attack her and face my wrath" Dark Magician told him, holding his hand out and his staff moving to his hand

"Attack him and face Zanetsuka" Darkblade threatened back. He grabbed his sword and standing next to Lightblade. Silveneste got an arrow strung to her bow and held it firm.

"Guys wait!" I shouted, standing with my back to the other duel spirits and looking at my monsters. "They aren't the enemy"

"Yeah, keep calm" Justin told his side. Kuriboh and Winged Kuriboh floating on our shoulders, saying a few random things. "We don't have to fight now"

"HE has to explain about that statement" Dark Magician told us. I saw him spinning his staff round in his hand before putting it back from the corner of my eye.

"Hate to say this, but he does have a point, Craig" Justin told me…why did it have to happen now?

"Alright" I told him, turning around. "It is kinda needed"

"Craig…What are you doing?" Ruby asked me. I looked at her and winked.

"This is kind of new to me as well" I put my head in my hand, thinking for a bit. "You remember when I won that duel and she fell unconscious"

"No, I was out cold"

"Oh…well, I won that duel and she was heavily injured. I ran over to her, grabbing her and a lot of things, wanting to know why she wanted me so badly. Apparently she was hired as a duel mercenary and was paid to get 'something powerful' from me"

"Which leads to…"

"Who hired her and what did or do they want that would have them use shadow duels and dirty tactics to acquire?"

"So now we have the mystery…"

"All we need is the villain, the hero and the all powerful monsters that only a few chosen can control"

"So that's what's going on" Dark magician asked. I simply nodded, my spirits lowering their weapons and bowing in respect. "Our threat still stands"

"We don't hold any ill will to your master" Ruby told them, smiling. "If we did, we would have done something already"

"True"

The elevator pinged as it stopped, the Duel Spirits vanishing as they went into hiding. We walked around the hospital floor, hoping to find Elendil. I honestly didn't know what to expect her to tell me, probably some Yugioh Cliché like 'the world is at stake' or 'you are some of the chosen few', heck I'd even go for 'that necklace holds vast power'.

We heard a few people walking around, conversations going on in the background about how someone was going to be fine…I know this is supposed to be a set, but I get the feeling people actually live here. We saw the person we were looking for, the woman getting some clothes on.

"Well, looks like you're ok" I told her. She finished shoving a vest on and turned to us.

"Didn't think I'd see you as a visitor" She replied, smiling. "Guess it's nice to have some company"

"Haven't you had a visitor since you've been here?" Justin asked her, looking confused. I pulled up two chairs, Elendil sitting on the bed.

"As far as I can tell, no, apart from one person coming in every so often to see how I was" She crossed her arms and looked at me, as if I was supposed to say something.

"Wait…I didn't come in too often to be noted as coming along to visit" I told her, raising one eyebrow.

"You came in…what? Four days ago"

"When I had time, yes, to make sure you were ok"

"Um, if I may interrupt" Justin started, both of us looking at him. "Do you remember your duel with Craig?"

"Yeah, it was one hell of a match" Elendil replied, smiling.

"What was it that drove you to kidnap and hurt me and my friends and duel Craig?"

"I was paid to get something from him" she explained, standing up and walking over to me. "That Pentagram to be exact"

"Whoa, what do you…they, rather, want with my pentagram?" I asked her, backing my chair up.

"I wasn't told; just that it was something that he needed"

"Who is 'he?"

"No clue, he rang me up and told me that he would pay me two thousand pounds to get it off you"

"So how did you start that shadow game then?"

"Smoke and Mirrors"

"And the pain I felt when I hit the side?"

"Again, smoke and mirrors"

"Must be on hell of an illusion"

"It pays to be prepared"

"So you don't know who hired you or for what reason" Justin summarised, Elendil nodding. "Great, one wasted lead"

"Well, at least we know they want the pentagram" I told him, smiling. "It's like a spirit key I suppose"

"Spirit key?"

"In GX, when they fought to defend the divine beasts by keeping the necklace/keys away from the shadow riders"

"And how is it like a spirit key?"

"It's a necklace someone wants"

"Oh, fair enough" Justin looked at a watch on his arm, seeing the time. "We'd better get going; you're going to be late if you're not careful"

"You go on ahead; I'll be down in a few minutes"

Justin looked between me and Elendil, working out if it was worth getting the guys ready I suppose. He nodded, standing up and walking away with his hand up. Once he was out of sight I looked at Elendil, hoping she had something.

"Do you remember the other duel?" I asked her, seeing her look confused. "The duel with Solemn Resolve"

"Oh, that one…I sorta remember it, but I think I dreamt it" Elendil replied, looking at me.

"I thought the same" I told her, leaning back on my chair. "But…you nearly died afterwards…and I've had that on my conscious"

"I nearly died?" she asked me. I nodded, seeing her look around, confused. "I was never told"

"I guess you didn't need to know" I told her. She sat down on the bed, absorbing the information. "Either way, you're here now"

"How…did it happen?" she asked. I looked t her confused. "The near death thing?"

"I was told in my side of the dream that if you lose you die" I told her, frowning. "I don't know why someone would do something like that…but I guess you're alright"

She looked at the ground, staying silent for a bit. I did the same, relaxing really. I hadn't been near death before…I've injured my head but that's not the same thing. I thought I heard something, looking at the floor. I saw a teardrop fall, looking at the woman and seeing her crying. I moved over to her side, putting my arm around.

"Hey…don't cry" I told her, hoping she would. "Come on"

"I can't…believe I…nearly…died" she told me, properly crying. "How could…that happen?"

"I don't claim to have all the answers…alright" I told her. She looked at me, hoping for something good. "But as far as I can tell, you are lucky, you've been on that brink and come back from it…thousands of others haven't been so"

"What do…you mean?"

"You're still here, the other dead aren't" I told her, smiling. "You could say you're dead, but where would the fun be in that?"

The tears slowed down as she listened to me. I was right; both of us knew it, only problem was how do I keep it up. I looked at her, seeing she had teal eyes. I didn't notice that before, and then her hair was long and brown. She stopped crying, smiling instead.

"You're right" she admitted, looking forward. "I am Lucky…I've lived where others died"

"That's the spirit" I told her, smiling even more. "Others would kill to be in your position"

"You're right again. Why am I moaning about what happened to me? I'm extremely lucky" she smiled, obviously stopped crying. "I shouldn't moan, I should brag"

"That's the perfect view" I told her, standing up. "You keep that view and things will be fine"

"Thanks…Dark" I looked at her oddly.

"What did you just call me?"

"Dark…that IS your name right"

"Dark is a name I rarely use at home…and then only my friends call me that"

"I was told that was your name and your friends called you Craig"

I was confused at this. Only my friends back home called me Dark RARELY, so how can someone I met once who doesn't know me at all know that name? I looked around the hospital, wondering if someone was watching.

"Are you still in the tournament by the way?" I asked her, changing the subject

"No, just a few exhibitions. I've been told that if I beat James then I'm in the next round" she explained to me. I smiled when she said James' name, another chance for him to lose.

"Good luck on beating my brother then" I told her.

"He's you're brother"

"Yeah, I've beaten him plenty of times"

"Well, I shouldn't have too many problems"

"You definitely won't, you had me on the ropes, so you'll beat him easily"

"Any tips?"

"Break him fast and break him hard"

She took that down, scratching her face…she had plenty of jewellery on I'll give her that. She had a name bracelet like I did, but she had a silver cross attached to hers. I was interested, I'll admit. And I think she could tell.

"I'll do you a deal if you want" she started, taking the cross off it and holding it in front of me. "You can have this if you let me tag along with your group"

"I'm fine with it…not sure about the others though" I replied, scratching my chin. "If they say yes, then you can tag along. If they say no, then I have to go with what they say"

"I'll give you a shiny nickel"

"I'm not Cosmo"

"Damn"

"Look, my next match is" I activated my duel sight, going through the menus and bringing up the match list. "In 10 minutes on the roof of this hospital. You can tag along for now, and ask them there"

"Thank you, I won't get in your way"

We both heard a high pitched sound, looking around for it. I looked at the deck, seeing a bright light coming from 2 cards. I pulled them out, seeing the cards surround by a blue light. The light eventually faded, showing my magician of faith having changed to Ruby, the Magician of Light, wearing silver instead of blue and blond hair (4, 1000, 1500) and a new card. Blessing of the fallen (It basically shows the dead helping a living soul)

"That was weird" I stated, and then the bright light started again, this time surrounding Ruby purely. Four smaller balls of silver light shot from her, these forming into cards themselves a square. They span in the air, the light fading as they took shape.

The first one showed a person in…well, 'our' clothes, looking around as if lost. The Travelling Soul apparently (3, 500, 1000, Tuner). The second one showed a picture of Ruby, except older and mounted on a pegasi. Ruby the mage knight of light according to the description. (7, 2500, 2000)

The third looked like a woman crying over the body of a fallen warrior. Solemn regrets…Ruby's card I suppose, but then what does she have to regret over. The last card, and I believe probably the last I'll get for my deck, was St Ruby, Elendil's sage of Light (8, 2700, 2000). It looked like Ruby holding a bronze staff with a golden armguard, a white cape and boots.

"Is that it?" I asked, hoping that nothing else weird was going to happen…nope, nothing did. I grabbed the cards, looking a bit closer at them.

"What on earth just happened?" Elendil asked me, looking at the cards. "This is getting weird"

"Well so far we're going along the list of clichés in a series of Yugioh" I told her, putting the cards in the card holder. "But this is a new one"

"True, shame I never learnt about this type of thing"

I looked at Elendil, thinking of something. If these cards have change, maybe Ruby has as well.

"Go and fetch the guys and tell them I'm on the rooftop for my next duel" I told her. She just nodded and complied, walking off to the elevator. Once I thought she was out of earshot, I pulled the cards out again, looking at my Synchrons. "What just happened?"

"I don't know" Darkblade told me, the trio appearing next to me.

"It affected Ruby, right?" Silveneste asked. I nodded, looking at her. "Be back in a minute" she then disappeared.

"What's with her?" Lightblade asked; me and Darkblade looking at him. "What?"

"It might be woman's issues" Darkblade told him.

"Even I knew that" I told Lightblade, both me and Darkblade looking surprised at each other.

"I just hope they don't take too long"

After a few seconds after this enlightening bit of conversation, Silveneste appeared, looking quite surprised…It most likely didn't need to be spoken what had happened, but none of us wanted to speak it.

"Something's…different with Ruby" she told us. All three of us looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Like?" I spoke, being the first of the guys to do so.

"See for yourself" she pointed behind me. I turned around, seeing…Ruby as her synchro form, not her normal form.

"What happened to you?" Lightblade asked her, looking at her.

"I honestly don't know" she replied, looking at her clothes. "I guess it's some ancient magic that just got kicked started again due to something triggering it" she looked at me, hoping for some answers. "What did she say that was different to normal conversations?"

I was surprised she asked this…it's not exactly unexpected but I guess I didn't think of it. Lets see, their was the contract on my pentagram and not the duel spirits, the fact that someone wanted my pentagram in the first place (it's a piece of simple jewellery) and then there was…wait…could that be it.

"Dark" I told her, everyone looking at me. "She called me Dark…which, well, barely anyone calls me, I'll admit"

"Dark?" ruby asked me. I simply nodded, almost not knowing what would happen. "So that was the trigger word I guess"

"Did anything else happen?" Lightblade asked me, walking over to Ruby's side.

"Well" I pulled the cards out, pulling the 'new' cards out of the selection. "These appeared as well, splitting off from Ruby's card"

Lightblade got closer, examining the cards. He looked quite serious as he looked through them. I think he was shocked to see one of them, but I couldn't really tell.

"So…was that it?" he asked me. I nodded. "Well, looks like you've got a simple magic activation"

"A what?" I asked him, shaking my head.

"These cards activated due to the right magical conditions affecting them. Temperature, precipitation, emotions, atmosphere, you know all that"

"I'm am so confused…you're saying that magic is real"

"Yeah"

"Well, that's not exactly common these days now is it?"

"True"

"I guess we can't expect a simple human to understand" Darkblade insulted…Hey

"Whoa…keep things above the belt, DEMON" I told him, responding to his insult.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?" he shouted, the other three looking worried.

"I JUST CALLED YOU A DEMON, NOW GET OVER IT!" I shouted, the hospital staff looking at me.

"Alright, the pair of you calm down" Silveneste told us, the other three getting between us. "We have a job to do, arguments later"

"Just get that filthy tiefling away from me" he told them, turning around and walking away, disappearing as he did so.

"What's with him?" I asked them, looking between Lightblade and Silveneste.

"It's complicated" they told me, looking around. "We'll see you later, when you need us"

"And I'll be ready" Ruby told me, smiling. "I'll be ready to fight when needed"

The trio walked away, disappearing as they got far enough away. I looked around, seeing the stairs and walking up them. Is it just me, or does Lightblade know more then I thought he did? I assumed he was a swordsman born and bred, but then again, I guess the brothers have a few differences there then. What was that Ruby said about 'trigger word'?

Either way, I started climbing the stairs, hoping to win my final match…a perfect run through this tournament would be perfect for me and the guys. And if Elendil got through, I guess I'd have a rival.

I will slow updates due to James being a git. I have to keep things hidden.

I'm setting up a poll and need answers, so please, answer it *goes on knees* PLEASE, it relates to this story.


	23. The perfect run?

Chapter 23: the perfect run?

I got to the top of the staircase, panting as I walked out of the doorway. Who knew hospitals had so many floors and so many stairs each floor? I looked around the flat rooftop, the wind blowing quite strongly and…warmly. I bet you could see the whole of the town from here.

"When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, the goddess descends from the sky" I heard someone speak. I turned around to face whoever it was and saw a guy who looked a lot like that Genesis guy from Crisis Core…heck he even had, what I presume is, a plastic red sword at his side…or is it steel?

"I didn't know there'd be true fans of Final Fantasy" I told him, smiling. "Then again, there are some good moments in there"

"I'm glad you agree" he replied, walking to the other side of the rooftop, then taking about 5 steps inwards. "But then again, we aren't here to talk about Final Fantasy are we?"

"True" I mirrored his actions, activating my disk. "Just please tell me you don't have any super evil intends"

"This isn't the anime you know"

"I just want to avoid BIG clichés"

"Good point, but to answer you, no, I don't"

"Good" he activated his duel disk, smiling. "So what do I call you? I mean I can't call you Genesis as I'm sure that's not your name"

"It's Zack"

"Name's Craig"

I heard footsteps running up the staircase, looking towards the door and seeing the guys, and Elendil, running up them, eager to see my match I guess. But then again, we are friends, and friends stick together. I looked at Zack, Smiling at him.

"Shall we begin?" I asked him, drawing my first hand. Oh dear, Shadow Saviour, Darkblade, Big shield Gardna, Warrior returning alive, Scrap Iron scarecrow and Death Demon, Lightblade. Good considering I can hold off a few attacks, not good for offensive purposes. I Looked at Zack…is it just me or is it odd that a guy named Zack likes to cosplay Genesis, considering the two are enemies in Crisis core.

"You bet" Zack replied, Drawing his cards, he smiled as he saw them…please have something even more useless then me. "You go first"

"Thanks, I guess" I told him, drawing a card…Fallen Angel, Silveneste…Damn. "I place a facedown and place a monster in defence facedown" I placed Big shield Gardna in defence mode and place Scrap Iron Scarecrow down. "And that's all I can do"

"Very well, I draw" Zack told me, drawing a card and looking at it, smiling. "I summon Sonic Chick in defence mode!" he shouted, placing the card down and the pink bird appearing next to him. "Next, I play quick summon, to bring out Atlantean Pikeman" he placed the spell in the grave, placing the pikeman on the field, the warrior spinning his polearm around. "Atlantean Pikeman, attack his facedown monster" the pikeman charged, stabbing the face down Gardna. The card flipped over, the pike breaking as it hit the shield. Zack's life points dropping by 1200 (2800) and my monster moving to attack mode. "Great, go Sonic Chick"

"Not so fast, go Scrap Iron Scarecrow" I replied, activating my trap and the defence item blocking his attack. "Thank you"

"I'll end there then"

"Thank you, Now I draw" I drew a card, looking at it. Ruby…Perfect!

"I switch Gardna to defence mode" the warrior moved so that he was crouched with his shield covering him. "Then, I place a monster facedown and end there" I place Ruby on the field, Smiling. Go get them Ruby.

"Very well, I draw" Zack drew a card, smiling as he saw it. "I play Rising Air currents"

The whole field got hit by a strong wind, the Sonic Chick riding them as it flew. I watched it through my sight gaining 500 attack and losing 400 defence points (800, 0) the Pikeman just watched it, smiling. "Go, Atlantean Pikeman, attack his facedown monster"

"Scrap Iron Scarecrow!" I shouted, my defence standing firm.

"I'll end with a facedown and end it there"

"I can't believe we're still stuck in this situation" I told him, drawing a card. "We're stuck as a standstill until one of us breaks it"

"True, and I intend to be that person"

"Not likely" I looked at my card…the Travelling Soul, beautiful. "I summon The Travelling Soul to the field!" I shouted, the person appearing. He wore a black overcoat, covering his head with a hood and the rest of his body was covered by said overcoat. "Now I flip summon Ruby, the Magician of Light"

I flipped the card, Ruby appearing on the field, spinning her staff around as she took form. Shame I can't use her effect due to no spells being in my grave. I smiled as I watched her. I compared the points of the cards using the sight, seeing that, yes, Ruby was weaker then the pikeman…right now at least.

"I tune the Traveling soul (L3) to my Ruby, Magician of Light (L4)!" I shouted…not saying the level side of things. The traveller looked at Ruby, the mage looking surprised as it looked back at the traveller, but then nodding. The tuner turned into three green tuner rings, Ruby standing still as they surrounded her, just holding her staff in front of her.

"Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting!" I shouted, raising my free arm up as the light funnel hit Ruby. "Synchro Summon! Ruby, the Mage Knight of Light!" I heard a horse whinny, followed by a pegasi flying past me, entering the light funnel. Next thing I knew I saw a pegasi fly out the other side with Ruby, a bit heavier armour then before, in the saddle, holding her staff in her hand. She looked scared as she looked down.

"You ok, Ruby?" I said to myself, hoping that somehow she would hear me and no one else would. She flew to her spot, stopping there and looking at me.

'Yeah…just a bit of…err…height issues' she explained. She didn't speak it but told me it using her magic.

"Didn't expect that, considering you're a flyer now"

'Have you ever flown on a pegasi?'

"Can't say I have"

'Then don't criticise me'

"Talk later, duel now"

"Craig, will you stop talking to yourself and duel already?" I heard Simon ask behind me.

"Yeah, Dark, I'm waiting to see you win" Elendil told me. The guys looked at her as she said this.

"His names Craig, Not Dark" Justin told her

"Yeah, but I prefer Dark, matches his clothes better"

Moving back to the duel, I looked at Ruby's card, smiling as I read the effect. "Under Ruby's effect, I can add one magic card of my choice to my hand, which I choose to be Black Hole" I grabbed my deck, spreading it out and pulling the spell out. I put the deck back in, watching it shuffle. "Now then, go Ruby, destroy his Atlantean Pikeman with Light bolt!"

Ruby span her staff round some more, a ball of light developing inside the ball on the end. Eventually she raised it above her head, the light flying upwards and lightning coming down to strike the pikeman down. The shards flying around as it was destroyed. (1100)

"I'll end there" I told him, smiling.

"Don't count me out yet" Zack told me, smiling back. "I have plenty of Life points to win"

"I invite you to try. It isn't a duel unless you can have fun and play to the end" I told him…well it's true, no matter the duel, there is always some fun to be had…then again, shadow games don't count.

"Fair enough" he drew a card, looking at it. "Go, Black hole" the black hole appeared above the field, Ruby and the sonic Chick looking at it.

'Master…anytime now would be nice to SAVE ME!' she mentally told me.

"Don't worry Ruby, I have a plan" I spoke quietly. Ruby looked at me, far in her eyes. She kept looking at me as she was drawn into the black hole and destroyed, along with Gardna and the Sonic Chick.

"And now, I play the ritual magic card Hamburger recipe" he told me, placing the card on the field, it rose up in front of him. "So I discard enough monsters to cover 6 stars" he discarded all but one card, placing the card on the field. "And summon Hungry Hamburger in attack mode"

The weird hamburger appeared on the field, taking a few 'test bites' in the air. I was surprised it didn't eat itself. "Go, Hungry hamburger, take a bite out of his life points" it charged towards me, this time I chose to take the hit in order to shorten my lead a bit. You'd be surprised how weird a hamburger bit feels. (2150)

"Why didn't you activate your trap?" he asked me, surprised, his monster went back to its spot.

"Because I didn't want to reuse that one trap for this duel" I told him, looking serious. "Sure I could have a perfect match here with no life point loss, but what would that be like from your view point. Besides, I've still won with this one draw"

"We'll see about that" he looked intrigued to see what I could muster. "I end my turn"

"Thank you" I placed my hand on my deck, looking at the cards. "You've come through for me in the past, don't fail me now"

"Draw!" I shouted, pulling the card back and looking at it…Solemn regrets. Brilliant. "I activate Solemn Regrets" I placed the card on the field, smiling as I thought about bringing Ruby back to finish this. "So now, due to Ruby being in the grave, I can bring out St Ruby, Elendil's Sage of Light!"

I watched as a bright plume of light occurred on the field, almost too bright to see in. a figure could be seen in it, a long cape followed b a staff and long hair. The light faded, revealing Ruby in her third form. White cape and boots, golden armguard, bronze staff…long red hair. She span her staff around, looking around.

"Glad to be back?" I asked her, smiling.

'I guess so' she told me 'I'm having fun I suppose'

"You better be"

I looked around, seeing everyone amazed at Ruby's new look/ my new card. I'll be honest, I was surprised as well, getting all three of Ruby's forms out in one match.

"Under the effects of Solemn Regrets, it equips to Ruby and increases her attack point value by 500" I watched through the sight as Ruby's already powerful 2700 attack points, which would have done 1050 damage to Zack, go up to 3200, able to deal 1550. I'm happy. I watched on, hoping for some other change to happen…all that did happen was that a tear fell from her eye.

"Sorry Zack, but I have to call it here" I told my opponent, nodding to him. "It's been fun" I looked at Ruby, the mage looking back and Nodding. "Ruby, Attack Hungry Hamburger with seal of light!"

Ruby made some weird blue seal in from of her, runes all over it. She then threw three smaller balls of light to different sides of it and finally slamming her staff against it. A massive jolt of lightning flying out of it and hitting the monster. As it shattered and Zack lost all of his remaining Life points, Ruby stopped the attack, looking at me and nodding one last time before disappearing.

"And that's another win for me" I stated, smiling and walking over to Zack. "Good game" I held my hand out for a handshake. He looked at me a while, the shock of losing showing on his face.

"Good game" he replied, grasping my hand and giving me a handshake

"We should play again sometime"

"You've got it, and see if you can get onto the cosplay scene"

"I'd rather not"

"Hey Craig!" I heard Jack shout. I turned round to see the guys running over to me. "That was a great duel"

"Shame about my first hand" I told them, showing them the cards I had drawn.

"Ah, dead draws" Andrew commented, looking at me. "When was the last time you properly worked on your deck?"

"I'd say around…6 months ago was the first and only major change"

"And that was?" Justin asked.

"He put it together" Simon replied, putting his hands behind his back and smiling.

"You haven't modified your deck since you got it?" Elendil asked.

"Haven't really had to. Besides, I have done minor changes like Solemn resolve, Ruby's cards, Blessing of the fallen and all the changes I've done here, which hasn't really been a lot" I explained, thinking for a bit. "And did you ask them?"

"Yeah, they agreed, so long as I don' cause trouble"

"When's your duel anyway?" Ryan asked her.

"It's on the boat on the way to the next round. If I lose on the boat, my parents have relatives who are living in Hawaii who will fly me home"

"Lucky"

"Moving back to the subject at hand" Andrew interrupted, looking between us. "How about me and Justin take Elendil and Craig into town to get new cards whilst you guys head back to the hotel and start packing?"

"How long do you intend to be?" Jack asked, looking at Andrew patronisingly.

"About one, maybe two hours"

"Oh, easily done" I told him, smiling. "You guys ok with that?"

"Sure I guess" Simon replied, which seemed to be the general consensus.

"Ok then, let's go"

So we all set off, Jack taking his side of the group back to the hotel, Justin and Andrew leading me and Elendil into town to the various cards shops. I wonder how James is doing anyway... Nah, he'll be fine, he's admin.

So that ends the first round, and a few fillers to get us to the next duel.

* * *

I've advertised them in the past, but I'll advertise them again: Rowan5255's Yugioh RL series, currently on season 2 or rather, the fusion of two. A great story about four kids finding out the darker side of Yugioh in a different world where losing means a lot more then losing a duel.

And andrew coad's delve into the shadows, Twilight tournament. Another great story about a few friends fighting in the darker side of things Yugioh related. I.e. the power of the duel king, the shadow realm and so on.

And I would think of some for Yuugi's girl (If I spelt that right) but I've been meaning to look myself.

HAVE FUN

And, on a side note. To two readers who I'm working with. Is that enough info to work from?


	24. an odd moment

First off: I would like to say a few words.

THANK YOU, ANDREW AND JUSTIN FOR THE CARDS. Seriously I'm overjoyed at them.

And moving on.

* * *

Chapter 24: An odd moment

I'll be honest; I didn't expect to go into Satellite town or city centre to go card shopping at the end of the first round at sunset. Especially with someone helping me find a few shops to help improve my deck. So if you see me walking in said town with Justin, Andrew and Elendil, imagine how surprised I was to be on the hunt for good booster packs for my deck along with a few for Elendil.

"Let's see, blade series, blade series" Andrew said to himself, looking in the shop windows.

"What's Andrew doing?" I asked Justin, hoping not to end Andrew's chain of thought.

"He's trying to think of what packs would hold the cards you would need" Justin answered, looking at Andrew. "He's brilliant at this kind of thing; he could find you a booster pack that is GARENTEED to have a Stardust Dragon"

"Wow, he must be good" Elendil told him, smiling.

"Which reminds me" I jumped in, looking at Elendil. "What about your deck? Is it ready to take on James?"

"Easily ready" she replied, smiling even more. "I've tinkered with it in my spare time at the hospital, so it's different from the last duel"

I nodded at this. The last duel I had with Elendil was fun I'll admit, even if dangerous. I couldn't wait to see this new deck and give her a game myself. I looked down the street, seeing the people packing up and getting ready to go back to a normal…well, normal-ish life.

"Hey Craig" Andrew started. I looked at him, seeing him pointing in a shop window. "You see that Booster pack in the window?" I walked over to him, looking in said window at said booster pack. It was a blue Packet with 'Gladiator assault' printed on it, with a picture of what I assume is a gladiator beast.

"Yeah" I told him, wondering what he was going to say.

"That's your best shot of getting a few more 'blade series' monsters" he told me. I smiled as he told me that. A chance to upgrade my deck with a few more cards could help later on.

"Awesome, thanks"

"Wait, how can you be so sure?" Elendil asked him. I turned round to look at her.

"I have a knack for this kind of thing" Andrew replied, smiling at her.

"Either way, can't hurt to give it a go" I told her. She looked at me quite concerned. "If he's wrong, a few new cards can't hurt, if he's right, then I've got a load more cards to reinforce the blade series"

She looked at me as if I was mad, trusting Andrew's 'guess' without much reason, at least from her point of view. I trusted Andrew and Justin, even though I had only known them for a month. I know that the normal person would have not taken the risk, but then again, when is talking to duel spirits normal?

"Any who, I'll see you guys when I'm done" I told them, pulling out a few dollars and walking in.

The shop was mostly empty of people; just loads upon loads of booster packs, odd cards and the counter with someone who was dressed as Yusei…Hang on, Yusei as a shopkeeper? Didn't see that coming for some reason. He looked at me as I walked in. I returned his look.

"Welcome, how can I help you?" he asked me, his voice was his Japanese one, but in english. I walked up to the counter, putting my money on it.

"That 'Gladiator assault' booster pack in the window if you would" I told him. He moved to the window, grabbing the pack in question and placing it on the counter.

"Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of"

"That'll be $2, 99"

He took the money off the counter, moving over to the till and opening it up, putting the note in and getting my change. "Thank you and come again" he passed me my chance. I gathered it up and put it into a pocket on my jacket, holding the pack in my hand. A question came into my head before I started walking out.

"Are you the guy who plays Yusei?" I asked him. He looked surprised I asked him that.

"I don't just play Yusei, I am Yusei" he replied, looking quite happy someone said this to him.

"Wow, what's the job like?"

"The pays good, only problem I have is trying to maintain this place whilst working on the show"

"Not being rude, but I didn't see Yusei owning a shop in the anime"

"Yeah, well how do you expect me, or rather him, to get the stuff needed to make the D-Wheel?"

"Working at the recycling plant"

"Good point, but then again, that wouldn't really happen when Yusei, or me, is obsessed with getting Stardust back and getting revenge, he would want to get back as quickly as possible, so this would be the best way to make money"

"Good explanation I guess"

"I hope that explains everything"

"I think it does, thank you"

I walked out of the shop, looking around for the guys. They were sitting in a bench, talking to each other about something. I watched them, Ruby appearing next to me.

"What's wrong mas…Craig?" she asked me. I looked at her, half smiling.

"You remember the first duel I had with Elendil?" I asked her, looking at her as she nodded. "If she has a deck like that then it could be fun to duel her again"

"But what if she employs the use of shadow magic again?"

"I don't think she will" I told her, smiling fully. "If she does then I just beat her down again"

"And then what?"

"Hopefully get more answers"

Ruby just nodded as I said this, I had a feeling she could sense some second motive where there wasn't one. I walked over to the trio, Elendil laughing as I approached. She must have found something funny that I had missed.

"Any luck?" Justin asked, turning towards me.

"I haven't opened it yet" I told him, sitting down on the other side of Elendil. I proceeded to open the pack, looking inside at the cards. "Let's see" I pulled them all out and spread them out in my hand. "Ok, as far as I can see, we have here a Bow knight (4, 1900, 0. a knight with a bow wearing blue armour) Chaos knight (4, 1850, 0. a knight with a long sword and shield wearing plate armour, all coloured red) a Holy knight (5, 2000, 0, another knight with a great sword, all coloured yellow) and a Wind Bolt (spell, a picture of Silveneste firing a white arrow. when used, remove Silveneste from you're field or grave to take 1000 points from a monsters attack or defence value. If it isn't destroyed this turn, then you gain 1000 life points, while your opponent loses 1000) and a Mirror Force"

"Quite a good selection" Elendil admitted, scratching her arm. "Good guess, Andrew"

"I don't guess I have a sixth sense with these things" Andrew told her, looking smug.

"Thanks a lot Andrew, these cards will come in useful" I told him, putting the cards into a pocket in my jacket. Justin put his hand into a pocket, pulling out another spell card.

"Here, take this one as well" he told me, holding it in front of me.

I grabbed the card, Justin watching my face to gauge my reaction. I looked at the spell, reading all the details. Bonds of Allegiance (Spell, the picture is three soldiers saluting each other) after reading what it did (Select three tuner monsters in your deck, you opponent picks one at random and it is summoned to the field, the other two returning to the deck). This is one of those moments where I couldn't hide my emotions, no matter how hard I could have tried.

"Oh…my GOD!" I shouted, smiling from one side of my face to the other. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…" you get the idea. I was over-over-overjoyed, if that is even possible. After I finally stopped saying thank you, I breathed a lot to get my breath back. "This is awesome"

"You're welcome" he told me, smiling. "I knew you'd like, and I haven't had a need for it"

"Besides, this'll just make it more entertaining when it comes round to the final rounds" Andrew chipped in. looking around. "That is if you make it"

"I definitely will, I just hope you two, Elendil, Simon and Ryan make it as well"

I looked around the area after this, seeing something…weird. You know the, so-called, golden knight. I.e. J.W. well, he was walking around the area talking to some people. I think we all decided to leave him alone, as no one stood up to walk over to him. My phone started ringing, which surprised me in a subtle (If you've seen the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimaya or something like that where the main 'hero' falls asleep in the library then the phone goes off. That's what happened)

I pulled my phone out, all four of us recovering from the shock of me shouting. I looked at the caller ID, seeing that it was Jack on the other end of the line. Well, may as well answer it.

"Hello" I started.

"Hey Craig, how goes the card shopping?" Jack asked, I could tell he had something up.

"Quite well, actually, how goes the packing?"

"Extremely well. We've managed to get everything done, even Justin and Andrew's stuff"

"So we're set to go"

"Yeah"

"Just excuse me for one second" I held the phone away from my mouth, looking at Elendil. "Are you packed and ready to go?"

"Not much to carry" she told me smiling.

"So you're packed" she nodded. "Great" I pulled the phone back to my mouth. "Elendil's ready to roll as well"

"We'll see you back at the hotel" Jack told me, ending the call. Andrew looked quite serious, as did Justin.

"What's wrong?" I asked them.

"I honestly thought Jack was J.W, what with all the disappearances and shrew businessman ship when Elendil was out" Andrew told me, scratching his head.

"I'd say he's like me, good at hiding emotions"

"Yeah…right" Elendil told me, sarcastically.

"Apart from just now, obviously"

"Look, either way, lets head back to the hotel for the night, get ready to move and set off in the morning"

"Sounds like a plan"

We all just nodded, setting off back to the hotel so that we were ready for the morning's travel. James would lead us to the docks; we knew that, just would he remember that he was leading us? That is the question


	25. a little chat

Right, first off, Ryan's got a profile on FF now. He's 2008. He's working on a megaman story so far. So please have a look…besides, I have a bet with him about a part of this story involving our small duels outside the story. Secondly, the poll I set up isn't working at all (As in FF doesn't pick it up), so if you do have an idea, you'll have to PM me with it unless I can fix it. But then moving on.

* * *

Chapter 25: a little chat

We all had a laugh back at the hotel, looking through each others deck. We gave each other some advice on each others decks. Simon and Elendil, no disrespect meant, didn't join in, looking at their own decks on their own. I know for a fact Elendil could hold her own, Simon…well, he had skill and cards, enough said.

"…so if you play Holy Knight last, then bring out Chaotic Synchron, you can have Silveneste, Lightblade and Darkblade out at the same time" Justin finished, placing the card down, then taking the cards off and replacing them with the Synchrons. "Ruby you'll have to get out in your own way unless you can get another card for her"

"Thanks for that lesson" I told him, smiling. I looked out the window, seeing the 'sun' had set. "Not being rude, but it appears to be getting late" Simon looked at his mobiles clock, whistling.

"It's about 10:10" he told us, putting his mobile away. "I'm guessing we shouldn't be too long before bed"

"Well, I'm off now anyway" I told them, gathering my cards and standing up. "Sorry, but I have a feeling we'll be off early in the morning, and I have to do some biking"

I started walking out, everyone telling me good night as I left. My room wasn't far down the hall, and, due to us being in a party of 5 when we arrived (James got 5-star accommodation 'out of town'), I had a spare bed in my room, and my D-wheel took a space near it. I heard some footsteps behind me, turning around to look at whoever was following me.

"Dark" I heard Elendil speak. I looked at her as she approached. "I have a question to ask"

"I have a weird feeling I know what it is" I told her, smiling. "You need a bed for the night, don't you?"

"I would ask the others, but…" she held her right arm, looking down at the ground. "I feel…most comfortable around you"

"You don't mind if I ask why that is, do you?"

"I honestly wish I knew" she told me, looking me in the eye. "It's just…I don't know how to explain it…"

"It's not one of those clichés where you feel like you've known me all your life is it?"

"No…it's…" she sighed as she tried to think of how to explain it. "…It's like we have something…big in common, you know?"

"I have no clue what you're on about"

"Haven't you ever met someone and had a feeling you've known them for ages?"

"I did…but it turned out I was tricked by whatever god or fate set that up"

I turned away from her while I gathered my thoughts, thinking about what to say, about how I lost whatever faith I had in religion over one girl…one girl who turned out didn't like me at all, about how I believed in other stuff to make up a faith so that I could believe in something…heck, I never really spoke about it…even thought about it.

"You're welcome to stay the night if you want" I told her, changing my train of thought. "I don't mind, but haven't you got some things to get before settling down for the night…"

"Miss Elendil?" a guy asked, he looked like a member of staff. We both looked at him, seeing him wheeling along a green D-wheel. This one looked like mine, except shorter and thinner.

"Yes" Elendil replied, looking at the guy.

"Here's you're stuff, just like you ordered"

"Thank you"

"And your bags miss"

From seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out a suitcase. That must be some kind of trick they pull here to try and get customers to keep coming. Elendil, Seemingly unfazed, grabbed the suitcase, the poor guy walking away. She then turned to me.

"Well, aren't you going to give me a hand?" she asked me, smiling.

"May as well do" I told her, smiling back. Now, just to clarify, I presumed I was carrying the suitcase for her.

"Good, then you can push the D-wheel for me" I swear my jaw dropped at this. "What? You're the guy, you're meant to do this kind of thing"

"Fine" I yielded, walking over to the bike and proceeding to push it.

Elendil lead the way to my room, as if she knew the way like the back of her hand. I was stuck pushing the heavy bike, which in fairness was clean, I'll give her that. When we eventually got to my room, I pushed it in, stopping it alongside my bike and leaving it there.

"There you go" I told her, turning round to look at her. "Anything else you need?"

"Not that I can think of, thank you" she replied, sitting down on the spare bed. "Seems you've kept this tidy" I laughed a bit at this.

"Me and tidy don't normally exist anywhere near each other. Besides, we packed up today"

"So back home…"

"My room's a mess"

"Fair enough"

"What about you?"

"It's near enough the same"

"Must be entertaining when you're wandering…"

"In your own piece of organised chaos" we both spoke at the same time, then looking at each other and laughing.

Now, to skip a long conversation, the basic breakdown of the conversation was her explaining how she became a duel mercenary, which was basically a want for freedom and a need to explore the world. She was from America, so really didn't have far to travel, and doesn't mind what the weather is. To be honest, I do agree on the weather.

"So tell me" she started, leaning forward. "What is it that you were going to say earlier about the bond thing?" I was surprised she brought this back up, as I didn't want to talk about it. May as well clear it up though.

"Years ago, that bond you were on about made me half of what I am today" I told her, half smiling as I held my left hand out. "Sure, there's the cheery, happy side of me which is mainly out, but then there's the cold, heartless side of me" I held out my right hand as I said the 'heartless' piece. "The heartless side of me is what you get if you threaten me or my friends, and, while I hate to admit it, it's the side of me that is steadily taking over due to some issues at home"

"So you're a skitzo?"

"No" I told her, lowering my hands and looking at her. "I can control which side 'comes out' if you get what I mean"

"I do"

"So, if someone threatens my friends, I'll defend them with my life if needs be"

"And if someone threatens you?"

"I fight them back" I looked out the window, a few thoughts going through my head. I laughed a bit at what I had just said. "You know, I haven't spoken about this ever. Not even with Simon or Ryan…not even James or my Mum"

"I can see why" she told me. I looked at her inquisitively. "They would think you're mad and send you off to some god forsaken place"

"I thought something along those lines"

"So what was it that caused this 'split'?"

"A while ago, there was this girl I liked a lot, and she gave me the impression of liking me back" I laid back on the bed, looking at the ceiling. "She pulled me along like a dog on a leash, using me for some work at school then leaving me out in the cold if you get my drift"

"Yeah, I get it"

"Now, to be perfectly honest, I lost my religion that day, so I'm technically not a Christian anymore"

"So what do you believe in?"

"I believe that you should try to build the future with your friends, that you should fight for what you believe in if necessary, that whatever happens you must keep your believe in your friends" I looked at the ground as I said that. "If you lose your faith in them, then you are a lonely person"

"So is that what you believe in, divinity wise?"

"Oh, no, I believe in angels and demons and that's it for me"

And so the conversation continued like this until we decided to turn in for the night. I got changed in the bathroom, Elendil getting changed in the bedroom. For privacy's sake. I fell asleep quickly, the thought of tommorow settling in.

* * *

Ryan, Simon, if either of you two are reading this, it's not anyone you know, alright. And if any of you have read my other stories, it's not Sarah (Friends in warfare) or the girls mentioned earlier, alright.


	26. on the road again

The votey thing is working again

I have a question that I probably shouldn't ask: who voted for James to be my rival in this story? Come on, be honest, I won't bite…much.

Any way, I finally have the 8 decks done. Elendil's and James' are different then last time, but either way, I need to keep up myself now.

* * *

Chapter 26: On the road again.

Reflections

"Now are we sure we've got everything this time?" James asked us as he closed the boot of his car. This was the fifth time after, I think, everyone forgot something at least once, and some people just forgot stuff at the same time as others. Everyone did a quick check before nodding. "So can we get on the road now?"

"I believe so" I told him, putting my helmet on.

Andrew and Justin, after a nice offer from James (added to some play fighting, fun duels (and, well, I guess bribes to James)) had decided to join us, seeing as though there was room in James' car. I looked at Elendil, seeing her put a blue helmet on, along with blue biker gear. I laughed a bit a I saw her.

"You know who you remind me of at the moment?" I asked her, controlling my laughs.

"Who?" she asked back, putting her hands on her waist.

"You know that Megaman thing?"

She seemed to get the joke there, looking at me quite sternly. That didn't go as well as planned I suppose.

"Mr Appleby, do you mind if I get changed quickly?" she asked my brother, taking her helmet off.

"It better be quick" he told her, sitting down in the drivers seat, Jack next to him with Simon and Ryan behind and Justin and Andrew behind them. "I'm leaving in 5 minutes, be back or we're going"

She just nodded, dashing into the hotel with a green bag. I had a feeling she'd be gone for a bit, and I'm sure I could do a few simple things at the moment.

"Hey, Jack!" I called. He poked his head out of the window, turning to look at me. "You don't mind helping me give her a quick once over do you?"

"I guess not" he replied, undoing his seatbelt and getting out of the car, screwdriver in hand.

"Where'd you get that from?"

"Side pocket in the car"

"HEY THAT'S MINE!" James shouted, getting out the car.

"I won't break it" Jack calmly replied.

"Relax James, he's good at what he does" I told my brother, to get a sigh, followed by him getting back in and closing his door.

And so, in the quick 5 minutes, Jack opened the bike up, showing me all the gizmos inside. I was expecting some futuristic bike engine powered by plasma…no, it was a very powerful electric engine powered by electric. I do recall someone being asked where the electricity came from, to which he replied 'the plug'. He wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed now was he?

"Sorry!" Elendil called, coming back out wearing a brown jacket and jeans, along with a grey shirt (Not revealing much) and trainers. She had her hair in a ponytail. "I just prefer travelling in these clothes"

"Well, come on, we have to go or we'll miss the ferry" James told us. Jack had already closed the panel up, so he ran over to the car and jumped in.

"You ready to roll?" I asked Elendil, putting my duel disk on the bike and locking it in.

"As ever" she replied, doing the same as me. She put her helmet back on. "Turn your com on" I complied, nodding.

"Check yours as well" I told her.

"Can you hear me?" she asked, speaking into the microphone

"Loud and clear" I replied, smiling.

"If you two are about done, we can get moving" Jams told us, using a third com piece I suppose.

He turned his engine on, me and Elendil doing the same. The engines roared a gratifying roar as they recovered from not being used for ages. The estate car started rolling, the two D-wheels following it.

We eventually worked our way out of satellite, while I am sad to see it go, a lot of things have happened that I wish hadn't. I looked at the sky, wondering how Mum was doing and School and things like that.

I was surprised when the helmet suddenly started bleeping and the image of a video call came up. Now for one, I haven't done a video call, but I suspect there's a camera on the bike, and two, who the hell would call me. I answered it, surprised as a big image came up. It wasn't one person, it was a medium sized group, I'd say about 30 odd students and 5 teachers, along with my Mum.

"SURPRISE!" they all shouted, to which I was nearly deafened. After they had finished, I looked ahead, half focusing on the image. It was the guys from school, along with Mum, and it looked like they were in an IT room at school.

"Next time, try not to deafen me" I told them, smiling. "Hello"

"Hey Craig" they all said at the same time, like a group of 10 year olds.

"How's things?"

"Great"

"Is this going to be the whole conversation?"

"No" someone answered, stepping out…Ryan.

"Ryan mate, how're you doing?" I asked him.

"I've been fine thanks, yourself?"

"Brilliant"

"You still confident you're going to win, Craig?" someone else asked, stepping out…Lucy.

"Ah, Lucy" I started, stopping as I thought about the answer. "I'd say yes, but not as confident as before"

"Why not?"

"A few people, namely Simon and Ryan, but also Justin, Andrew and Elendil"

"Wow, they were good"

"And we're good friends"

"What happened to Elendil anyway?"

"Well…no one's sure what happened exactly. But she's here now if you want to say anything"

"No thanks"

"Where is Georgia anyway?"

"Ill I'm afraid" Miss Kirk told me, not moving from her spot. "She told us to tell you to keep on fighting; she's behind you all the way"

"Tell her I said thanks, alright"

"Will do"

There was an eerie silence after that, people looking at each other, hoping someone would continue to conversation. I didn't want to stop either, but I hadn't set up autopilot yet, which I planned to do after the call. Why didn't Mum say anything?

"Are you ok mum?" I asked her, everyone turning to look at her. She had a tear in her eye, I could tell that.

"I'm just…so proud of you" she told me, sniffing. "You're out there… with your friends and brother…and you are adjusting to travel" she kept trying to fight back tears, but it was obvious she was losing. "Just…be sure…to come home…in one piece"

"You know me Mum" I told her, putting my thumb up and smiling. "I always come home in one piece…it's the stuff I take with me that doesn't"

She laughed a bit at this before leaving the room. I could hear the door close as she did so. Poor mum, it must be hell on her, living alone.

"Moving on" I started again. "Have I missed much?"

"Not much, just a few snow days and things like that" Mr Walls replied. I knew I looked surprised at that.

"It was snowing?" I asked them, everyone nodding. "In England" they nodded again. "In winter" they nodded a third time. "Amazing"

"What, doesn't it snow much in England?" Elendil asked.

"It's right climate, it just never happens" I told her, smiling. A thought then hit me. "Where is the camera anyway?"

"Stretch out your hand" I heard someone tell me, which I complied with, putting it on the handle bar. "Lower…right a bit… lower… there you go"

I had my hand on a silver sword engraving, smiling as I looked at it. It was in the perfect spot for a camera to look at me and be out of the way. maybe James had been looking through it sometimes on the road to gauge my enjoyment of the ride.

"Anyway, while I hate to say this" I told them, they knew what was coming. "To save on your phone bill, I'll end the call"

"Wait" A girl spoke, stepping forward…Sarah, a girl who believes she is the worst off in the world, yet doesn't see the world around her is worse off. She was the one who said 'my life is cursed'. "Just tell me: has anything weird happened?"

"Define weird"

"Yugioh clichés"

"Nothing" I lied.

"Really?"

"Yeap"

"That's odd. I would have expected something to happen"

"That coming from the cursed one"

"Hey"

"Trust me Sarah, your life isn't cursed" I told her, getting ready to end the call. "I'm the one with a cold heart"

I ended the call on that, letting them contemplate the mystery of what I had just said. Now, oddly, the rest of the journey went quietly, nothing happened, so we boarded the ferry.

* * *

I'll be honest, I was tired when I wrote this chapter, as It was late at night. I'll try not to do it in future, but if it's sloppy then you know why.

And seriously, who voted for james?


	27. the sacred, the gunners, and the heroes

Back to sanity (was I ever…) let's see what happens in today's episode, do note that James and Elendil are using different decks then before (some cards are the same, but Most are different)

Chapter 27:

the sacred, the heroes and the gunners

Elendil VS James

Now, as an honest question, what would you expect someone like me to be doing on a ferry that will take over a day to get to the next stage and half of that to get ready for a friend of mines duel? Playing games of course. They had a few shooters available and, while the guys were setting up the 'field', or dining room, take your pick, I decided to spend a bit of spare change.

If you've been into an arcade, chances are you've seen a game called 'Time crisis' which is a shoot-em-up where you shoot the target, take cover and reload and so on, working your way towards the end and 'fighting' a boss. This is my favourite arcade game EVER, and I've made sure to get a good play of each of them.

Moving back to the day in general though, as far as I knew, Simon was working on his deck, making plans about his future. Ryan had gone looking round the boat (Which was large, and, as a joke, I betted he would get lost at least once) Andrew and Justin were going through their decks to try and improve them, Jack was trying to legally 'flog his wares to the general public' and James was getting ready for his big match. Elendil…I have no idea what she's doing at this moment in time. And to be perfectly honest, I wasn't really bothered. She was old enough to take care of herself, as were the rest of us (Ryan being the exception due to being 15, but then he could still take care of himself)

Right now, at about the halfway stage of the game, shooting at some more soldiers, I found I had entered that relaxed state 'beyond relaxed' if you know what I mean. and the great thing about me being relaxed is that I work things out easier, recall information that I need at a quicker and more accurate pace (Hence why I say I work better relaxed when it comes round to exam season, not just because I want to relax) and…well, just do better overall. I would like to say I'm possibly being big headed here, so sorry if I am.

"Mind if I jump in?" I heard Elendil ask. I 'ducked behind some cover', at least in game and turned to her. She looked stunning at the moment, and for some reason I was speechless. She hadn't changed clothes all day, but…well, this moment…

"You can if you want" I told her, turning back to the game and 'breaking cover'. "Just don't be upset if you can't keep up"

I could see out the corner of my eye she smiled at that comment. I issued the challenge, she accepted, so she walked over to the other side of the game, pulled out the gun and got set up.

Now, as far as I know, I've played this series of games a lot and make a lot of mistakes from time to time. As far as I could tell, Elendil jumped straight in and matched me shot for shot…even getting a few shots I didn't know about, annoyingly. I tried my best to maintain what lead I had to begin with, but, before the stage was even over, she had matched my score. Now, to say that I was miffed is an understatement, consider I thought of myself as a veteran of this type of game.

"Is that the best you have?" she taunted, smiling and blowing on the end of her 'gun'.

"How long have you been playing these games?" I told her, surprised she was that god.

"It's the only thing to do back home, as it's a quiet town"

"So I can presume a lot"

"You bet ya"

I presumed that she had come from a city of some size to have her own D-Wheel, but then again, appearances can be deceptive. As I contemplated this, that annoying passenger announcement jingle came on, followed by a message of: 'Will The duellist participating in the survival duel please report to the match now. All those who wish to watch, please report to the field as well. Be advised, fog has been seen on the satellite pictures, so our journey may be slowed'

"Ok, apart from the fog, that was important" I told her, smiling.

"Yeah, I have a duel to win" she told, holding her left arm (Which her disk was on, which was not the shield one, it was just a standard green one) across her chest. "I've taken your advice about your brother into account when making this deck"

"Just promise me that you'll avoid Meta decks"

"Why?"

"Let's just say Justin and Andrew have a slight dislike of them" that was putting it EXTREMELY lightly as I'm sure they would agree to that statement, especially Justin.

"Then relax, it isn't meta" she smiled, pulling out her deck and spreading the cards out in her hand, showing the various pictures to me. "It's a mix between heroes, gunners and various other cards"

"Just don't do the flame effect again, or even the shock therapy"

"Like I would"

She ran off after this, leaving me to finish things up on the game, which didn't take too long. I followed along, finding the entire ship going to have a look, the proper sailors staying on duty. When I got to the dining room, Simon and Company (Including Ryan) had managed to get front row seats around a table, so I joined them, seeing James with his white disk on and Elendil with her green one.

"Sorry I'm late" I told them, sitting down. "Just finishing up on something"

"Relax, the match hasn't started yet" Jack told me, smiling. "They've only just decided turn order"

"And drinks are on the way" Simon told me, raising a bottle of coke.

"Then lets see what these two can do" I told them, relaxing in my seat.

As far as I could tell, they had only just drawn first hands. Thank god, I haven't missed much then.

"Elendil to go first" someone said, everyone looking at her.

"Right then, first off, I draw" she told everyone, drawing a card and looking at it. "I place one monster face down on the field, and place two face down cards" she does exactly what she says, showing no emotion. "And that ends my turn"

"And starts mine" James tells her, drawing a card and looking at it. "I place two face downs, and summon Blade Archon"

The card was placed down and a werewolf like creature, with a pair of wings, brown fur and a long bladed sword of some kind, took to the field, swinging its blade downward. (4, 1500, 1000) everyone around us said 'ooo' as James swung his arm out. "Go, Blade Archon, attack her face down with Blade fury!"

"Thanks" Elendil told James, The facedown monster flipping. "Go, Elemental hero Clayman!"

"What!?"

The blade hit the rock hard hero, breaking and flying towards James. It hits him then disappears, James not reacting in anyway. (3500) I could tell he wasn't expecting that. He must have thought it was something weaker…actually that must be obvious…moving on. The whole crowd started clapping, myself included.

"I'll end my turn there then" he told her, crossing his arms.

"Thanks, so I draw" Elendil replied, drawing a card. She looked at it and smiled. "I play polymerisation from my hand, and fuse my Burstinatrix in my hand with the Clayman on my field" the lady of flames appeared next to Clayman, the pair running into a swirling vortex behind them.

"In the name of the heroes, I call forth Elemental hero Rampart blaster in defence mode" she announced, placing the armoured warrior down. The whole crowd going 'ahh' I got my duel sight out to examine the duel at the minute. "Rampart blaster; attack James directly with Rampart assault"

"Wait, that can't attack in defence mode" James argued, holding his free arm out.

"Surely you should know that it can attack you in defence and directly, but at half damage"

"Damn it, guess I have no choice" Rampart gets ready to snipe at James, its attack now at 1000. "Reveal face down, Magic cylinder!"

The card flips up to reveal said trap, the two cylinders appearing out of the card, Rampart firing its salvo of rockets into one of the cylinders, then the second cylinder firing them out onto Elendil, the duellist disappearing in a cloud of explosions. (3000)

"I end my turn" we heard her say as the smoke cleared.

_Update_

_Elendil 3000_

_Rampart blaster (defence: 2500) two face downs_

_James 3500_

_Blade Archon (attack: 1500) one face down_

"My move then" James started, my brother drawing a card.

"Hey, Craig" Jack asked, silently. I looked at him to show I heard him. "Who are you supporting to win?"

"I'm not" I replied, looking between the two duellists. "Whoever wins, I'll be happy for"

"Come on, don't you want Elendil to win?" Andrew asked, not so silently.

"If Elendil wins, then she tags along with us" I told him, looking serious. "And to be perfectly fair, something about her is off"

"What are you on about?" Simon asked, looking confused.

"Remember when she kidnapped you guys? Well; I think she has changed too much in a single month"

"I know what you mean" Justin told me, turning slightly. "But at least she has changed for the better"

"Moving back to the subject at hand, why not support James?" Jack interrupted.

"Well, what does he have to lose or even gain from this?"

"A bonus"

"Exactly"

"So James is doing this for money?" Ryan asked, looking confused.

"I wouldn't be surprised, he's that type of person, even with a few noble ideals"

"I summon Light angel of the heavens to the field!" James shouts, everyone paying attention as a Celestial (As I think they're called) landed on the field in front of James, a golden glow generated around it. It wore white clothes around itself and was, for all intents and purposes, unarmed. (Tuner, 3, 200, 500) "And now I tune my angel (level 3) with my Archon (level 4) to form a new monster"

The angel flies over to the Archon, putting its hand on the wolf's shoulder. Both of them fly upwards, the angel of light turning into three green tuner rings and the archon flying into the centre of them.

"The crusade of the angels is a just cause; fight the evils on the shining crusade!" he spoke…great line, I have to admit, but right now the green plume has appeared. "Syncro summon! Celestial Soldier of legends! Bring down the wrath of the gods!"

Out f the plume, a white winged sword dropped (White winged as in the wings are white, not the rest), followed by a guy dropping slowly out of the plume. He wore golden armour with the sign of a religion on it (just assumptions, so I'm hoping not to offend any religion here, as I'm sure this symbol is just for these cards, as it is basically a, I presume, pilgrim walking towards a city or holy site) a pair of slightly transparent blue wings (Near enough just the outline) appeared on his back, and a shield on his arm. (7, 2500, 2000) Everyone gasped at the sight.

"And I'm not done yet" James Told Elendil, placing a card in the back field. "Go, wings of the sainted!" a spell card appeared on the field showing a pair of angel wings. "I can only equip this to an 'angel' type monster, so I choose my soldier, and so he gains 500 attack points" a second pair of wings appears on the soldier, who has now landed and is picking up his sword. (3000 atk)

"3000?!" Elendil commented, in a surprised fashion.

"Oh yes. So go, Celestial soldier of legends! Destroy Rampart blaster with Sainted slash!"

The Angel, now having picked up his sword, starts flying again, the outline of his wings visibly moving as he flies towards Rampart, slashing at his opponent as he gets within range. Rampart shatters as he is hit, Elendil protecting herself from the shards.

"I'll end there. I just hope that wasn't your strongest monster" James taunts, laughing a bit.

"That was nowhere near my strongest" Elendil replied, drawing a card. "I play Pot of greed, so now I draw two cards" she put the spell in the grave, drawing the two cards. "And now I play the field spell, Skyscraper!"

The field takes the form of a cityscape, hastily built and put up. I have to say it looks impressive seeing as though it took 5 seconds to build. James looks around, wondering what's going to happen next.

"Next, I play the spell card, monster reborn, to bring back Rampart Blaster" The monster retakes the field, its weapon loaded again. "And attack him directly again" this time, James has no defences, and so takes the full blast (2500) That'll sting in the morning. "And I end there"

"And I draw once again" He looks at the card with an evil look. "I place a facedown and play mystical space typhoon to destroy your city, then let my soldier do the talking" the celestial just throws his shield this time, hitting Rampart in the forehead. When he shattered, the shield came flying straight back to him. "And that's all I can do"

"Well then, time I start fighting back" she starts, drawing a card. "Ok, first, I play Ruins of War"

The whole field changes to a desert town, abandoned due to…well, war I presume. I can hear the sounds of fighting in the distance. "With this on the field, all gunners gain 500 attack while losing 400 defence points"

"And that affects me how?"

"I now play the ritual magic card, memories of the past!" she places the card on the field, the magic card showing a guy holding several medals in his hand. "So now, as long as I discard enough monsters to make 8 stars out of them, I can bring out a stronger monster"

She pulls out two cards, showing them to us to be Cyber dragon and another card which I can't really see. She places them in the grave, pulling out a third card. "The memories of the past may be hard, but remember times bonds are endless. So march, the Forgotten Soldier!"

A soldier appears in the desert sands, holding over his shoulder a grey…I think it's called a carbine…not so sure on that. His armour is ripped and damaged and his face shows a scar from a bullet. (8, 2800, 2500) his points change due to the field spell (3300, 2000).

"Go, Forgotten soldier, show you're skill with bullet rain!" Elendil commands. The soldier throws his gun up so it spins round in the air. He then catches it as it drops and fires a quick burst of fire at the angel, managing to hit it with all of the shots, James protects himself from the shots and shattered pieces of monster (2200)

"I'll end it there"

"And I need something good, quick" James said to himself, drawing a card. "Damn destiny draws…go ahead and finish it"

"I will do" Elendil replied, drawing a card. "Forgotten soldier, attack with bullet spray"

The soldier complies, firing a few bursts at James. He winces as it hits him, stepping back each time until he runs out of life points.

"And another one in the bag" The gunner finishes, the whole room applauding. I think it goes without saying she was through, and then, she made things look quite interesting. I wonder if she is going to be this good in the next few matches. I looked at James, looking at the card he had played face down. something was up, i knew it. he's too good to go out just due to a draw failure...twice

* * *

I was _slightly_ tired when I finished this chapter, so if there are errors, put it down to tiredness. Man, I'm not normally THIS tired.

Imagine going a full day without sleep, then getting 3 hours and staying awake again. That's how I feel, even though I have had full nights of sleep.

Moving on, next chapter has a 'weird' factor in it. A ship in the fog, who knew. and to start with, i was worried some people would moan about the meta, then it get's off set by the gunners and what not. Elendil's deck is mainly made up of gunners and heroes. James has a deck of 'fallen ones' 'angels' and flames.


	28. terror of the seas, part one

Chapter 28:  
terror on the high seas. part one.  
'I'm not losing them'

I left the celebrations behind to 'shadow' James, due to suspicions I had about his duels. He, eventually, went to the front of the ship leaning on the rail, right when the fog was closing in. I need a good excuse as to why I'm here, because he would assume I'm celebrating my friend's victory.

"You can stop following me now if you want" he said out loud, looking at me. I was surprised to say the least.

"How long have you known I was following you?" I asked him, standing still.

"Since we left the dining room" he went back to looking ahead. "Well, seeing as though you're here, may as well do what you came here to do"

"Well, actually I did want to talk to you" I went next to him, leaning on the rail with my disk on my arm still. "On the subject of these past two duels"

"You want to know why I keep losing due to not drawing a card to defend myself with" I was surprised he got it in one, but nodded. He closed his eyes, looking away for a few seconds. "To tell you the truth, Craig, It's due to you and her being friends that I let her win"

"You mean you could have won?"

"First turn I drew a card called Time Zone, It lets you special summon any monster in three turns by paying 1000 life points"

"That would have let you won I suppose"

"And, to tell you the truth, I was worried"

I looked at him, almost bemusedly. James plus worried don't normally exist in the same lifeline, never mind in his eyes. I knew what ever he said, it wouldn't be good news. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised it was something about him and me.

"There's something different about you since you got here" he told me, looking at me. "Ever since that mark appeared on your duel disk…"

"To be honest, I think it's a bit more then a mark" I told him, smiling while joking. "Heck, it's more like where a sword hit it"

"So, would you mind explaining it to me?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you" James turned to face me fully, looking smug.

"Try me"

I sighed. How do you explain to someone that you: A. got attacked by a sword wielding humanoid dragon thing that shouldn't exist in the first place. B. can see duel spirits, namely Darkblade, Silveneste, Lightblade and Ruby and know someone else with the same ability and C. that something weird is happening in this tournament to do with said spirits. Heck, it goes to D. that you've been in shadow games and someone wants something from you? Whoever can explain what's going on, please step forward right now so that I can get a grasp at a new reality.

"It's complicated" I told him, echoing what I said before.

"Try me" he repeated. I heard footsteps behind me, turning round and seeing Ryan, Jack and Simon coming to find us.

"It's probably worth you three hearing this as well" I told them. They simply nodded and joined us, resting against the bar.

So I told them everything I knew, from the beginning of this tourney all the way to now, including about the duel spirits and the 'item hunt' for something I have. It felt good to tell them this, like getting a weight off my chest. Only problem was, I knew what would come after this: 'you're crazy' 'like that's going to happen' and 'duel spirits don't exist'

"…And that's about it" I finished, missing out the talk with Elendil the night before we left. The guys evaluated what I had told them, letting the data sink in. it was hard to believe, I'll grant them that, but I hope they do believe it. I don't want to think I'm crazy.

"So, this past month, you've known about duel spirits and what not?" Ryan asked. I just nodded in response. "So why didn't you tell us?"

"Because 1. I thought you'd have thought I was crazy, heck, I found this hard to believe myself. And 2. you didn't need to get involved"

"Whoa, what do you mean 'get involved'?" Simon asked, looking annoyed. "We're your friends, we're meant to get involved"

"And I'm your brother" James continued, looking angry. "I'm the closest thing you have to a dad since he left, why couldn't you tell me?"

"Because I wanted to sort this out on my own" I told them, lying.

"Is that the best excuse you can come up with?" Jack asked. I shook my head.

"It's no excuse, it my reason"

"That's not why your personality changed"

"You know, to be honest, I knew you'd think I was crazy and leave me to my own devices, as the saying goes. And then you never have trusted me James" I turned to walk back into the ship.

"Hey, we're not done!" James shouted, following me.

"CRAIG, DUCK!" Darkblade shouted.

"Huh" I replied.

Now, the next few events are fuzzy. I remember hearing Ryan shout something, then Simon running over to me, and James doing the same. Jack tried to run back into the ship. A tentacle like thing had appeared out of the water and, as quickly as it appeared, it tried to grab us. I followed Darkblade's instructions, diving to the ground. The other four were grabbed by it, dragged to the water.

"James! Ryan! Simon! Jack!" I shouted, running to the front. I couldn't see them.

"CRAIG!" I heard James shout, then his voice going altogether.

"What's going on?" I heard Andrew ask. I turned around and saw him, Justin and Elendil looking at me.

"Long story short, weird stuff, gotta go diving" I told them, climbing over the bar and jumping into the water below.

"Wait for us!" Justin shouted.

I landed in the cold water below. The dark night blinding me in the water. I looked around frantically, trying to find the trio. Next thing I knew, Elendil, Justin and Andrew had landed in the water, seeing me panic.

'We've got to find them' I mentally thought, hoping one of the duel spirits would hear it.

"There's a magic zone beneath you" Lightblade told me. "It's got air; I think that's where they are"

'Thanks'

I swam deeper into the water, looking at the other three follow me down. There was only one thought going through my mind.

_I'm not losing them!_

A bit further down, I saw a white light. That had to be the magic zone. I swam into it, surprised by what was on the other side. It was air. I went through the 'wall' into the zone, falling down and landing on my back on a solid surface. I somehow hurt my leg in the fall.

"That's going to hurt in the morning" I said to myself, getting up as quickly as I could. The area was rounded, with a golden floor. The 'walls' were green. "Hang on, where are…"

"Coming through" Ruby told me. Then three people fell on top of me. Now my leg is definitely knacked.

"Everyone alright?" Justin asked, at the bottom of 'his pile'

"I'm fine here" Elendil replied, getting up.

"Same here" Andrew told his friends, getting up.

"And I'm good as well" Justin told them, not getting up. "Luckily I landed on something soft" I cleared my throat to try and get some attention. The trio seeing me beneath him. "Craig/Dark" (both names included due to Elendil calling me Dark)

They helped me up, looking round the area as well. All of us were soaked to the skin, and I hoped I hadn't ruined the cards or disk. I checked them, finding they still worked fine. Then I checked my leg, seeing no major damage, but then I wasn't an expert in medical science. I looked around the area, looking for James, Simon, Jack and Ryan.

"Guys!" I shouted, walking around…well, more limping due to the crippling pain in my leg. "HELLO!" No answer, just an echo. "JACK!" no response. "RYAN!" no reply again. "SIMON!" yet again, no reply. "JAMES!" no response. "ANYONE!!!!!!!!"

"Craig, we'll find them" Justin told me, patting my shoulder. "They can't have gone far"

"He's right" Andrew continued, standing next to me. "They have to be nearby"

"What I don't get" Elendil started, walking around with her hand on her chin…I must say her clothes are now quite revealing, as I can tell you she's wearing a blue bra…I really shouldn't be looking, but still… "Why did they try to take you guys?"

"It must be because of me" I told her, walking forward with my limp. "It's my fault. The last time something like this happened…as in my friends being taken, it was someone after me"

"Right, I was" Elendil admitted, scratching her head. "But why take your brother and friends?"

"I'd give up ANYTHING to keep my friends safe, and James…well, he's my brother, and though we don't always see eye to eye, I have to keep him safe sometimes…to repay him for all these years of keeping an eye out for me"

"Well that explains…that" Elendil trailed off after saying that, looking into the distance. "What the hell is that?"

We all looked into the distance, seeing a giant tentacle thing with someone standing on top of it. In the tentacles grasp…there they are!

"James!" I shouted, running forward, ignoring my injury as I did so. The other three followed me as we headed towards the thing. We stopped not far away from it, due to the fact there was a massive body of water in the way. we heard an evil laugh coming from the guy on top of the tentacle.

"So, you decided to join the party" the guy told me, looking at me. I got a good idea of his features, his right arm was full of those sucker things and his face had a few tentacles on it (DAVY JONES!) his left arm was a normal arm, except blue and his legs…well, the around 15 of them, were definitely squid like. He wore a pirate's attire.

"Let them go!" I demanded, swinging my arm out, water spraying off me.

"I will do, all you have to do is beat me in a single duel"

"And if you somehow win?"

"Don't you know shadow game rules by now?"

"Not another one"

"What's it going to be, you or you're friends and brother?"

"Be prepared to lose!" I shouted, activating my disk.

"Be prepared to lose your soul to my beasty" he replied, pulling some of his squid skin off and revealing a duel disk. That must have hurt considering the blood now dripping from him.

"Are you sure about this Dark?" Elendil asked me, moving to my right. "I can take him on if you want"

"No one takes on my friends and gets away with it" I told her…here it comes. "But no one messes with my family and lives"

There we go; my 'dark side' has now come out. The heartless cold side of me. I didn't care what happened from there, so long as I beat this bastard and rescued my friends and James. I drew 5 cards, looking at them. Bow knight, Big Shield Gardna, Scrap iron Scarecrow, The mercenary hero L.3 and Chaotic Synchron. 'Squiddy' draws five cards as well, his tentacle wrapping around them.

"I'll make the first move" he tells me, drawing a card and looking at it. "First off, I summon 7 colour fish in attack mode" the fish jumps out of the water, floating in front of its owner. "Next I play Umi" he places the field spell down, the water now reaching my feet. "And two face downs and end it there"

"About Time" I told him, drawing a card. blessing of the fallen. "I place a monster face down in defence, followed by a facedown and end it there" I place Gardna down, along with Scrap Iron scarecrow.

"And so my turn begins again" Squiddy draws a card, smiling as he sees it. "I activate the trap card, tornado wall" he announces, flipping up the face down. "So now, I take no damage so long as Umi is around.

"Shame it won't do you any good" I told him.

"And I summon Vorse raider to the field!" he shouts, not needed, placing the monster on the field. A warrior holding a glaive appears on the field, spinning it around in the air. "Vorse raider, attack his facedown monster!"

"Reveal facedown, Scrap Iron scarecrow!" I told him, flipping up the trap. The defensive instrument appears on the field, hitting his raider and knocking him back before flipping back down. "Nice try"

"Well then, go 7 coloured fish, destroy his face down monster!"

"Flip Summon, Big Shield Gardna!" I shout, my monster flipping as the fish rams his shield head on. "You Aren't going to win, so give up NOW!"

"Not likely, I end my turn"

"And I go again" I drew a card and found that it was Wind Bolt…better save that till later. "Right, I change my Gardna to defence mode and then sacrifice him to special summon my bow knight!"

I place the card down on the field, overjoyed to get the first of my new blade series out. The bow knight looks like an archer holding a longbow, with a quiver on his leg and a hood. He looks at the enemy, holding his bow sideways.

"And since I special summoned him, I can still summon, but for now, I activate his effect" I pull Chaotic Synchron out of my hand, putting it in the grave. "I discard one card to special summon a Bow Synchron from anywhere in my deck, hand or grave"

I pull my deck out, searching through my cards in a hunt for the crossbow woman. I find her card pulling it out and reinserting the deck, which shuffles quickly in the machine. I place the card on the field, the crossbow woman looking at the archer. "And now, I tune my level 3 Bow Synchron to my level 4 Bow Knight!"

The pair fire an arrow or bolt into the sky, the missiles colliding and releasing the tuner rings. The crossbow woman disappears, the knight standing in the circles. "The four winds give excellent cover. Attack the enemy with your matchless fury!" the green plume appears around the knight, a bladed bow falling nearby. "Synchro Summon! Silveneste the archer of the winds!"

The archer in question drops out of the sky, landing feet first on the ground next to her bow. She pulls it out, looking at my opponent.

"Is this the guy?" she asks me.

"Oh yes" I told her, I swear I sounded evil.

"And has he done what I think he's done?"

"Look at the tentacle"

"He's going down"

"Exactly"

"Whoa, Craig, you can talk to duel spirits?" Andrew asked me. I looked at him angrily.

"Not the time or the place!" I shouted at him. He was taken aback by that. he did have grounds to I suppose."Moving on, Silveneste, shoot his fish out of the water! Piercing wind arrow!"

Silveneste quickly loaded an arrow, firing it at the 7 coloured fish. I watched as Squiddy recoiled from the blast but was annoyed at the fact he took no damage.

"I end by Summoning a monster in defence" I told him, placing the mercenary hero down.

"Shame, you had a good move there" he draws a card, looking at it. "I activate the spell card Kraken bait, Fortress defence!" he shouts, placing the card on the field (The picture is basically a ship with a tentacle after it. "Now I discard monsters that equal 9 stars" 9? "To ritual summon Ocean's terror, the Kraken!" he discards two cards, placing a third card down. His tentacle, which I presumed was just a tentacle, starts moving wildly, swinging all over the place. Suddenly it goes under the water, the group of five still on it.

"GUYS!" I shouted, distressed.

"That's unfair" Justin told me, stepping forward. "He's using them against you"

"He hasn't done yet" I told him, stepping forward. "Silveneste, blast them out!"

"What?"

"Blow them out with your wind abilities!"

Silveneste looks at me, confused, then shrugging and turning back to the enemy. She clenches her hand, then opens it again in a pushing fashion. A strong gust of wind emanates from it. It clears the water, granted, only problem is…well.

The Kraken is real. James, Ryan, Simon and Jack on four different tentacles. Squiddy on a fifth. If you saw the Kraken, chances are you'd be scared half to death three times. It has 15 rows of teeth with 40 each row, at least 200 massive tentacles and two massive eyes. (3500, 2000). Squiddy just laughs, his voice sounding watery.

"I didn't think you had it in you to let them drown" he speaks. I don't bother replying. "This is the creature of legends and the one that shall be your demise!" he starts continually laughing, the Kraken repeatedly slapping it's spare tentacles together. I look at the guys, seeing them still out cold.

"Don't you Die on me Guys!" I shout at them, gritting my Teeth. "I'll have you saved soon!"

* * *

Hurray, a multiple part duel again. It feels so good.

Anyway, I need to get blessing of the fallen out soon, so next chapter for something big.

And, in my heartless cold moments (Shove over queen of ice) I have been known to be...worse then that. I have been known to get things wrong, like someone saying they can't see the board and I take it the wrong way. or (my, oddly, favourite) someone keeps going 'Craig, Craig…………' I do tend to get pissed off at that in my moments.


	29. terror of the seas part 2

I have GOOD news (phew) I have computerized the decks, so any changes can be logged instead of filling up pages in my 'grimoire of infinite plans' (It has since been renamed the 'Grimoire of limited plans' and should now be the 'collection of pages and book cover of plans') and I've designed another card for my deck, probably won't be seen for a while though.

Moving back to the duel.

* * *

Chapter 29:

Terror of the seas, part 2

'For the fallen'

Ok, just imagine the situation for a moment please. Your staring down the legendary Kraken with a grand total of 3500 attack points, or rather 3700 due to a field spell, and 2000 defence points, also increased due to said field spell. Your friends and family are on it's tentacles while you take part in a game with your life on the line in a dimension or 'magic zone' where luck and skill in Yugioh determine who lives and who dies.

Now put me in said situation with Silveneste out on the field, my brother and my three friends from England in said Kraken's tentacles, a Davy Jones dead ringer standing on top with a coral encrusted disk for an arm, tentacles for legs and so on standing on top and ordering said beasty and you have what is going on at the moment, apart from some inner turmoil from 'my dark side', or the iced bit of my heart, which is currently leading the way in the duel. Andrew, Justin and Elendil are behind me, watching the duel.

"Kraken, Destroy Silveneste! Tentacle wrath!" 'Squiddy' shouts. Now, I can see its effect a mile off. Immunity to traps. Trump card monsters tend to have that sort of thing these days when it comes to fighting me…who can blame them with SMS (Scrap Metal Scarecrow) I watch as Silveneste is grabbed by the things, and then they tighten to crush her. She drops her bow before shattering, the blade landing point down, sticking to represent her grave. (2700)

Now, with the other shadow games, it was pain. This one was probably worse, the water rose to accommodate the life point difference. I watch as it reaches my knees, the others behind me watching it as it. I'm weirdly calm, even I can see that.

"In order to keep my Kraken on the field, I have to sacrifice a monster in the first turn it was summoned" he tells me, pointing at his raider. "Vorse Raider, go and be the bait"

The monster nods, running over to the Kraken and jumping into its mouth. Before anything can happen, he shatters, the kraken moving as if it ate something. "I end my turn there "

"What's going on?" Elendil asks. I turn round as I place Silveneste in the grave.

"Shadow game rules" I tell her. All three of them look at me, surprised.

"They don't exist" Andrew tells me, I turn back to the duel.

"Neither do duel spirits or different realms, but look where we are" I retort, drawing a card to start my turn…Solemn wishes. "First off, my mercenary hero promotes to level 5" the card flips over, revealing the hero as he changes appearance. Annoyingly he has only 2000 attack and defence points. Even if I did add blessing of the fallen to him he couldn't do any real damage, not until we dry this place up. Time for plan B, hold him off until I can bring out The fallen angel. If I hadn't have gotten rid of Chaotic Synchron, I could bring out Lightblade right now. "I'll place one facedown, and leave my mercenary in defence mode, and end my turn" I place solemn wishes down.

"Is that all you can do?" he asked, laughing as he walked down a tentacle on his beast. "With your friends on the line, all you can do is defence, not even do any damage"

"I've been known to turn things around in the past" I told him, swinging my arm out. "You are going to pay for what you are doing, and by god, if I don't bloody do it in this duel, I'll do it by hand"

"Threatening with words only does so much" he replies, standing next to James on the tentacle. "And your dear brother, you don't want to lose him now do you?"

"Shut the hell up!" I shout at him, stepping forward in the water. "I Don't Give a Shit what happens to you, but By God, I'm Taking you down for Messing with me, my brother, and my Friends!"

"Like I said before, Words only get you so far" he draws a card, looking at it. "I activate the spell card "I play the equip spell card 'Soul edge Omega'" he tells me, the card flipping up as it takes it's place on the field. The picture isn't that much different to the normal one, just a better look at the warrior. "I equip it to my Kraken, so now he can't be destroyed at all…"

"…just like an upgraded soul edge magic card" I interrupted him. He looked pissed at this. "Hence the omega"

"How clever you are?"

I look at James, only now noticing the fact that his head is only just above the water…wait, he wouldn't dare. "Go, Kraken, destroy his so called hero!" the kraken yet again sends it spare tentacles to crush the hero, the warrior shouting in pain as he shattered, his sword landing on the ground next to where he was. I recoiled from the rush of air afterwards, smiling…that's what I wanted him to do.

"Activate trap, Solemn wishes!" I shout, flipping up the face down. "Now, every time I draw, I gain 500 Life points. So start saying goodbye to your watery paradise"

"And I care why?" he ask me, walking back up the beast's tentacle. "You can't win, whatever happens in this duel" I looked at the ground, listening to his words. "Unless you can destroy my Kraken, you can't attack me, and unless you can drain my 'watery paradise' as you called it, you can't do any damage to my life points, and I end my turn by the way"

He's right. Unless I do both of those things, I can't do anything to damage him. I can't save them…I can't do anything. This match will end in my loss. "Face it, you will never be able to save these poor people, not even if you could perform what Yugi and Jaden have done on several occasions" I felt a tear in my eye, looking back up.

"Do you think that matters?" I ask him, fighting back my tears. "My cards have come through for me in the past" I held my disk in front of my face, making it so my left eye was covered by the deck. "I have faith in them" Darkblade, Silveneste (On crutches) Lightblade and Ruby appeared in Spirit form around me. "They have faith in me" they disappeared. "And while I can still fight, I will NEVER give up hope. As long as there is one little star of belief remains in the dark skies of despair, I will never give up, I will never loss my faith, and I will never let anyone hurt anyone close to me!" I put my disk back in front of me. "And while I may never get anything close to what those two legends have done, I will make sure to keep my hope alive" I put my hand on my deck. "For all I have rides on the lives of my friends and brother!"

I draw the card swinging it out in front of me. My life points go up (3200) and the water level goes down. I look at the card…Pot of greed, Perfect. "Go, Pot of greed!" I shout, placing the card in the grave. "So now I can draw two cards" It all comes down to this. "I called out to the heart of the cards in my deck, I ask you, please, give me the power to save my friends and brother. Please, give me the strength to win this fight!"

I swung my arm out, hearing a sword being drawn again. Is it just me or is that turning into a special effect I get in tight spots? Anyway, I look at the cards…Valkyrie, good. Harpies feather duster, BETTER. Time to end this.

"Right, First off, I play the spell card Valkyrie!" I shout, placing the card down. "So now, I can special summon Fallen Angel, Silveneste!" (2900, which increases to 3400 due to Valkyrie) a bright light comes down from the 'sky', Silveneste in it, her arms out wide and a quiver on her back, along with her legs together. She is unarmed, except for her armour and angel parts, along with said quiver. When she lands, she walks over to her old bow, picking it up and looking at me.

"Remind me to be more careful next time" she told me, turning round and looking at me. "When you get crushed to death, it tends to hurt" I can now make out a white right eye (Try saying that 10 times).

"Excuse me for being rude, but we have to fight this bastard" I tell her. She shrugged and turned round.

"How many duel spirits do you have?" Elendil asks, walking up to me.

"I'll explain it all later, for now, let me finish this bugger off"

She stepped back in surprise…to be fair, was this change really that much? I mean, I'm not THAT different, right…right? Never mind, It's time to finish this. And I have just the right cards to do it.

"Now, I play the spell card, Wind bolt!" I shout, placing the spell card down. "Now, if I remove Silveneste from play, I can lower one monster's 1000"

"You appear to be miscalculating things there" Squiddy tells me, looking like he's smiling. "You lose the card you just summoned"

"Actually, I don't" I tell him, ejecting the original Silveneste from the grave. "Because it wants THIS Silveneste to be removed from play to work"

"WHAT!?"

"I just bloody told you, its need Silveneste, the archer of the winds, to be removed from play to work, not 'Fallen angel, Silveneste'!"

"That's not what I…"

"Silveneste, fire a wind bolt at his Kraken, strip it of its pathetic pride!"

The archer nods, putting one of the blades of her bow into the ground and pulling a green arrow out of her quiver. She kisses it, spinning it round and throwing it up into the air, following it up with her picking up the bow and jumping after it, flapping her wing as she did so. She grabbed the arrow, firing it at the Kraken and following that up with a strong gust of wind, embedding itself in the kraken's eye. (2700 attack) I watch with Glee as Squiddy feels it, clutching his arm.

"Take that you bastard!" I shout at him, then laughing at his pain. Silveneste looks at me, worried and confused. I pull another card out of my hand. "I follow up with Harpies feather duster, to destroy all of your magic and trap cards!" I watch as the water gets lower, still around my knees but lowering around the Kraken. (2500 attack, vulnerable to destruction, 2000 defence points) if I attacked now, I would destroy his kraken and deal 900 life points worth of damage, and I needed to deal 4000 to end it here.

"I activate the equip spell, Blessing of the fallen!" I shout again, placing the equip spell down, flipping up onto the field. "I equip it to Silveneste, so now she gains 600 attack points for every monster in the grave"

Let's see, 3400 base, 4000 for the mercenary hero level 3, 4600 for his level 5, 5200 for Gardna, 5800 for Bow Synchron, 6400 for Chaotic Synchron and 7000 for Bow knight…that should do it…man, that's kind of a broken card…well, if you know what broken means, if you don't, it's basically a term to say that something is extremely powerful. 7000 – 2500…4500. More then enough.

"For the Fallen!" I shout, the spirits of the monsters who were dead, more in the grave I should say, appeared, each one looking at the angel, turning into small blue flames and moving to the bow. Silveneste gets an arrow out, the flames moving to it and setting the end alight. "Silveneste, finish him with avenging soul arrow storm…"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" he asks me. I stop my order, looking at Squiddy. "IF you do that….those four might have an 'unfortunate accident'"

"What are you saying?"

"My beast might 'accidentally' crush your friends"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"No, I wouldn't, but said beasty will"

He clicked his fingers, the tentacles of the stricken Kraken tightening on the guys. He was serious, he would go through with this if he could. I watched them try to escape and failing…I can't do anything.

"Ready?"

"Ready"

"On your mark"

"Gaia Knight, the force of Earth!"

"Dark Horus!"

"Fallen Angel, Silmeria!"

I turn round to see the trio behind me having summoned monsters. This could be interesting. I look at them, seeing my friends step forward to stand alongside me.

"Here's the plan" Andrew tells me, standing on the other side of Justin. "You attack him and finish him off; we order our monsters to save the guys"

"How do you know that you're monsters won't get destroyed or we won't be quick enough?" I asked them, still in 'cold' mode.

"We don't, all we can do is try our best to save them" Justin told me, looking serious.

"Just have hope Dark" Elendil told me, I looked at her, seeing her smile. "We won't fail with such high stakes" I shook my head at this.

"You guys…" I spoke, looking at the ground. "…thanks"

"Less Talking, more saving!"

"I knew someone would try something like this" Squiddy told us, smiling. "Which is why this realm is set up with a trap"

"Trap?"

"If anyone else attacks me while a duel is on, then is realm collapses, meaning you have to try to swim back to the surface while my beast drags you down"

"You coward!" I shouted at him, looking at my friends. "You rigged it either way so you got the win"

"Damn straight, you're too important to lose to"

"Why me though?!"

"Oh, that's not important for you to know"

I looked between the guys, who in turn looked between each other. We couldn't do anything, if we did, we endangered the guys, but if we leave it, then he wins anyway. He laughed at this, I looked down again.

"We can't fail here" I said to them, looking at Squiddy. "We still have hope, we have momentum, and we have strength and friendship" I looked between the trio, smiling. "The opportunity is near, just not yet, wait till they are conscious"

"We BLOODY ARE!" I heard James shouted. I gasped, looking at him and seeing him awake. "Hurry up and bring him down"

"Come on Craig!" Simon shouted, I looked at him, seeing him smiling. "Trust in the cards and they shall lead you to victory"

"You can do it Craig" Ryan shouted.

"Just save us" Jack spoke. I felt a lot more confident and brave after that. I could see Squiddy panicking.

"SHUT UP YOU FOUR!" he shouted at them, clicking his fingers again. The beast tightened his grip again. "This is my Victory!"

"No it isn't" I told him.

"Wha…"

"Silveneste! Soul vengeance hit and run!" I shouted, Silveneste nodded, running forward.

"Gaia Knight, Attack with earthen Might!" Justin commanded, His knight rearing up and running forward alongside Silveneste.

"Dark Horus, Attack with Dark destruction!" Andrew directed, his monster charging forward with its hands by its side.

"Silmeria, Attack with Dark sword of the Fallen!" Elendil ordered, the angel nodded, running forward with her sword ready.

"You would sacrifice your friends and family for yourself?" he asked me, clicking his fingers, the beast started trying to squash or crush the four monsters, the 'heroes' dodging all of them.

"I'm not sacrificing them!" I shouted, holding my arm out. "I'm saving them from a fate worse then death"

First one to make an impact was Dark Horus. He made it to Jack and used some dark magic on the tentacle to cut it off. He grabbed Jack, bringing him back to Andrew. Next was Gaia, who pierced the creature near Simon, putting him on the horse and bringing him to Justin. Third was Silmeria, who slashed at the beast near Ryan, also bringing him to Elendil.

Lastly was Silveneste, who, not only swung her bow around and hit the creature near James, but also fired an arrow at point blank range into the creature's mouth. She got back to us before the shattering started.

"Get ready to move" she told us. The guy we had saved were out cold. I looked at the archer.

"Why?" I asked her, still in 'cold' mode

"Lightblade and Ruby both say this place will collapse when 'Squiddy' as you call him, is beaten"

"So we will need to get swimming" Justin commented.

"Yeah, and we can't help you in the normal world"

"Thanks Silveneste" I told her, grabbing my brother.

"I'm just doing what anyone else would do if they had the courage and strength to"

"But these guys mean more to me then the world"

"Just explain something to me" she walked closer up to me, her angel wing wrapping around her right side. "What you said about 'having faith in your cards', was that just directed at us or is that your whole deck?"

"That's the whole deck, but you guys aren't really cards, your people…you're my friends"

Silveneste smiled at me before disappearing. All of us that were left looked at Squiddy as the beast shattered. If you've seen GX when they go to the dark world, you'll know what I mean by 'he then went to join the stars', if not, he basically turned into loads of white lights, all floating upwards. He then said something quite haunting.

"This isn't over, we'll get you yet, Dark!" he shouted, the voice trailing off at the end.

"And I'll be here to say my friends" I replied, smiling. "Because I'm sure they'd do the same for me"

A massive red crack appeared in the dome right over head, and then the entire dome cracked around us. We all grabbed someone, getting ready for what would happen.

"Whatever happens, follow me!" I told them. They all nodded, keeping a tight grip on their injured. "Ruby and Lightblade, Give us a hand finding the surface!"

"Already on it!" I heard Lightblade shout.

"We'll be ready" Ruby told me.

The cracks went altogether, the dome flooding just like that. We were shoved out into open seas, the dark ocean surrounding us. I tried my best to keep a hold on James, looking around for some sign of where to go.

'Lights above you' Lightblade told me. I looked up, seeing a trail of Lights. I looked at the others, indicating where to go. We all swam together, hoping to get to the top before we ran out of air.

A few seconds later, we reached the surface, everyone taking deep lungfuls of air as we did so. We looked around, seeing the boat not moving nearby. I looked at James next to me, still out cold.

"I wonder if we can make them think this was a dream" I told them, getting three evil glares. "Just kidding, they need to know"

"Look, let's just get on the boat before it leaves" Elendil told us. We all concurred swimming towards it

About five minutes later, and two people going on board to get help (Elendil and Andrew, I refused to leave the guys behind) we had gotten back on board. We were all soaked and freezing half to death. But we had made it, we were back on the ship and in one piece.

"What in blazes where you doing in the water at this time of night?" the captain asked us. We all looked at each other, wondering what to say…raffle anyone. Whoever knows what to say, please step forward.

"We came out of the dinner hall for a bit of fresh air" Elendil told them, holding Ryan. "Next thing we knew, these four had been pushed in"

"And that is everything?"

"Well, as far as we know, they were knocked out by the impact" I told him, looking serious and feeling woozy…woozy?

"And nothing else happened?" he asked us. Everyone nodded, as in 'yes, nothing else happened. "Right, we'll get these boys to the medical and help you to your rooms"

"Thank you sir…" Andrew told him, smiling and looking at me. "They're going to be alright, Craig" I didn't do anything to reply, still felling woozy. "Craig?"

I think something must have happened while in the water, because I remember hitting the deck hard as I lost control of my body, then I felt a searing pain inside me but couldn't shout or scream or anything, then I blacked out. The last sight I remember seeing was Andrew running forward and the other two noticing what was going on and running towards me. Then I think is obvious. I blacked out, falling unconscious.

* * *

And thus a major duel is done. I would like to wish Andrew, Justin and Bryan good luck in their matches. Bryan, probably a bit late to ask, but if you want, I can work you in; I just need a deck config.

Anywho, so ends a watery duel. If you recognise the cracking thing from somewhere, I'll give you a cookie for telling me where it's from. *pulls out a cookie* its morning fresh.

And with my army of *counts them* 8 stories, I'm thinking of adding a FF story. New world, new back story, new heroes and so on. Anyone likes the idea, then please tell me.


	30. Memories

You can probably guess, It's hard for me to get a neutral look on James' personality as he is my brother. While, yes, I do hold loads of respect for him, he is a little f****** ***** ******* *** ** * ***** **** ******* **** at the moment. As you can expect, the way he acts affects my view on him, and thus the way he acts in the story. One minute a good hero, the next a git out for evil.

But after the rant, there is light:

Chapter 30: Memories

I 'woke up, opening my eyes and looking around. I could see myself, so I knew that something was up, considering the darkness all around me. I put my hand against my head, hoping to overcome the pain from a massive headache.

"What the hell happened?" I asked, having no recollection of how I got here or even what had happened. "Or should the question be where the hell am I?" I looked everywhere I could, seeing nothing. "This is strange. I wonder" I got up, finding that the ground had no feeling, just a solid surface. I stood up, looking around. "Ruby" no answer. "Ruby?" Still no answer. Alright, plan B. "Lightblade" nothing again. "Silveneste" nothing yet again, what about the big gun? "Darkblade?"

No one showed up, and there was nothing I could hear except for my own breathing and heartbeat. This is freaky, last time I was somewhere like this, I had someone with me. And then there was at least some light. Someone had to be here, it's my only hope.

"Hello!" I shouted, looking around. "Anyone here!" Still no reply. "Come on, Someone's here, I know it!" there was still no reply, putting my free hand behind my head. "Come on, Ignoring me is going to get you nowhere!" I put my hands down, my headache going. "Well, I could do with a bit of light" the Darkness gave to a white stuff as it rolled over the darkness. "Ok, that's a bit too coincidental" still no response. "Well, if you're not coming to me, I'll come to you"

I started wandering about in the white light. I remember saying something along the lines of 'can you dumb the light down a shade?' with the white turning to grey then saying 'that's better'.

Now, the wandering felt like an eternity, with no end in sight or anyone in hearing range at least. I felt a weird cold wind blowing through the place, followed by a strange howl…why does that sound familiar? No…Wolves?

"What are wolves doing here?" I asked myself, looking around. I saw a hill in the distance…hang on, how did that appear there. No time for discussions. I ran towards it, hoping something was on the other side. It didn't take too long, but still…I'm not exactly the fittest person, so I was worn out. When I got to the top of the hill…I wish I hadn't done, after seeing the sight on the other side.

On the other side of the hill just so happened to be a cliff, which was getting filled in as I ran towards it. In a strange moment, I stopped just on the edge, flailing my arms as I tried to stop myself falling. I got back on the edge, looking down. It was a hell of a drop. I looked out ahead, seeing a village on fire, surrounded by forests and woodlands and what not.

"What the…" I said to myself, looking at the village. "Who would do that?" I asked myself, hearing a growl behind me. I turned round, seeing a group of three headed red dogs behind me. Cerberus exists? And there's more then one? I backed up as they barked at me, my foot on the edge of the cliff.

"What a great dilemma" I said to myself, gritting my teeth. "Death by dismemberment by Cerberus and his chums" I looked down the cliff face. "Or death by falling" they barked at me again. Well, a fall does help you get your thoughts in line. Whichever celestial or demon I have to pray to, please, help me out here. "So long buddies"

I held my arms out stretched, leaning backwards towards the edge. One of the beasts realised what I was doing, charging forward to try to bite me. I started to fall down the front of the cliff, closing my eyes as I felt the air rush by me. If this isn't a dream, then I guess this is the end…if so…I'm sorry, Mum…I won't be able to keep my promise…I won't be coming home.

"Cra…" I heard something. I opened my eyes, looking around. "..aig" where's it coming from. "CRAIG…back"

"Who's there?" I asked, flipping over. I still couldn't see anyone. It ended there. "Hey, answer me!" I looked down, seeing the trees extremely close. "I guess it doesn't matter…goodbye…cruel world"

I felt the impact, feeling several bones breaking, then extreme pain then nothing as I fell unconscious…and most likely dead. I thought the next scene I would see would either be loads of angels playing harps and flying around on clouds (Or Celestia), or loads of demons around red rocks and lava in a subterra. (My own way of saying subterranean)

"Hey…like he's…to" I heard someone speak…please say it's not a subterra. Please say it's not a subterra.

"He's a…person then…" someone else spoke. I heard a fire crackling.

"Come on…should…started" a third person remarked…hang on, those three sound familiar.

"Wait…fully awakes…he needs it" a fourth person told that third voice…they all sound familiar

"Give him a pinch, maybe that'll wake him up" the first person remarked, to which I felt someone pinch me…still groggy from the fall, I just rolled over.

"Five more minutes" I told them.

"WAKE UP!" someone shouted, to which I felt someone poke me.

I opened my eyes, seeing trees around me…ok, it's not a subterra. That much is certain. But I don't think it Celestia either. I rolled over, seeing who it was who had found me…Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to go well?

The people turned out to be Ruby, Darkblade, Lightblade and Silveneste. The guys had set up a fire in the wood and were sat round it; Silveneste and Ruby were next to me, looking at me. I tried to get up, only to be pushed back down by Ruby.

"Don't move, you've had a nasty fall" she told me.

"Like a fall is going to stop me" I told her, pushing her hand off and standing up. I felt a pain in my leg, the same one I injured in the sphere thing. Silveneste saw this, running over and giving me a support.

"You broke several bones in the fall" she told me, looking me in the eye. "We did the best we could to heal them up, but with the height of the fall, you're lucky to be alive"

"Tell that to the others who say the same thing" I told her, looking around. "Anyway, what seems to be going on?"

"Well, we were doing a bit of wandering and came across this place" Darkblade told me, his sword by his side and a flat stone in his hand. "We found you here, injured and the rest is history"

"So, what happened before that?" I asked them, scratching my head. "I don't know what happened after I said about 'no one messes with my family and lives'"

"Well that would explain the change in personality" Lightblade commented, his armour on the ground next to him, revealing a leather shirt and leggings.

"Huh?"

"It's best if you sit down to hear this" Silveneste told me.

I obliged, then getting dragged over to a log next to the flame. Darkblade started dragging the stone along his sword while the others explained what happened…which I did interrupt occasionally to ask questions on but was told to wait till the end to ask questions…kinda like a tour then.

"…Then I saved your brother and left you guys to swim to the surface, where you got back onto the boat and fell unconscious" Silveneste finished, sitting on a log opposite. I shook my head in disbelief at the end of it all.

"So let me get this straight" I told her, looking at her. "I have some hidden side"

"Yeah, only problem is we don't know who or what it is" Lightblade told me, walking over to me. "For all we know, it could be a demon or an angel, or just someone else within you"

"Why do you say that?" I asked him, confused.

"What did you think causes Schizophrenia?"

"The brain making multiple personalities"

"Close but no" I was disgruntled at this. "Something happens in one's life that causes intense emotion to flare up, attracting whatever spirits are in the area to the person"

"So, something happened that caused something to enter me?"

"Correct, and if it's a good emotion, like love, then an angel becomes the second personality, if it's a bad emotion, like hate or anguish, a demon does the same"

"So…my broken heart which I said was the heartless side of me…"

"Is actually something else"

"That explains a few things" Lightblade sat down in the dirt and looked at the stars. "Main focus on this point is that it only becomes a true second personality in moments of equal emotion"

"So my hatred for squiddy brought it out"

"Correct"

"I think I get it"

"There is another point to bring up as well" he put his hand on my pentagram. "This thing holds it in, but ironically is the only thing that keeps you in control" he let it go, standing back up and pacing. "When you put that thing on, it controls what goes into your body, be it demon or angel, through subconscious thought"

"So I let things in with out even knowing it"

"Yet again correct. If it is taken off without you taking it off, whatever is inside takes full hold and does what it wants"

"So how did it get out if I'm still wearing it…and for another point, why doesn't it stop working when I take it off?"

"Like I said, intense emotion, and the magic seal stays in place for 24 hours after taking it off, unless something brings it down"

"Go figure"

"We're hunting around in here to see what your other side is, but for all we know, it could be evil or good" Ruby told me.

"Well, how do I get rid of it?"

"Me and Ruby are working on that, but whatever should happen, you'll have its blood left over" Lightblade continued. I was surprised at this part.

"So I could have angel or demon blood?"

"Or both, it's not unheard of"

I leaned back on the tree behind me, looking at the stars. This was making less and less sense every minute. A second personality, demons, angels…blood mixes. All of it just didn't make sense. Man, I wish I never got these cards if this is all they are going to do to me.

"I know this is a lot to take in" Darkblade told me, stopping whatever he was doing and turning to me. "But for now, it shouldn't really affect you like it does me and Lightblade"

"So, I've already had the evil side come out once, who's to say it won't come out again and in the middle of a duel with my friends?" I argued, looking towards him.

"Because Lightblade and Ruby will hold it back as best they can"

"And that brings up another question which I've been meaning to ask for a while but is minor" I looked at Lightblade. "How do you know so much about magic?"

"I'm a spellsword" he told me, smiling. "Able to put spells through weapons and even have a few secrets of my own"

"I thought you two were just warriors"

"I'm the strong arm, he's the mix of me and Ruby" Darkblade told me, smiling. "My brother is a bit weaker, but his spells have seen us through many traps"

"And another question: what is it that happened in your past, seeing as though every card has some kind of history?"

"We fought against the heavens" Darkblade told me, bluntly, nonchalant as well.

"WHAT?"

"Me, Silveneste and Lightblade were a three man squad in the old war days, fighting against angels in order to keep this land safe"

"So you fought against the god's rule"

"And it was worth every moment, even up to the final battle"

"What happened?"

"We forced them back, and then…the rest is blank"

"Ouch"

"I think we can all guess what happened"

"I'm sorry to hear that"

"Don't be, we led good lives, saving whoever we had to, fighting for what we wanted to and so forth"

"Money?"

"Plenty of it"

"Did you spend it?"

"Died trying"

"Craig…Craig" I heard someone speak, looking around and seeing Justin's ghost. "Craig…don't stop fighting"

"I've gotta go it seems" I told the guys, standing up.

"Good luck" they told me, smiling. I thought of one last question before going.

"Hey, Darkblade" I turned my head to see him out my eye corned, the warrior looking at me. "Does this mean…all is forgiven?"

"You'd risk your life for your friends and family. That deserves respect, so yes" he smiled at me.

"Thank you"

I limped off, the gust of wind pulling me in life again. I was on a bed of some kind, a heart monitor attached to me with James next to me, Justin standing opposite and the rest of the guys awake and looking in through the window.

"Doc, he's coming to!" James shouted, looking over at someone.

"Good, he's been out for an hour" he replied, writing something down. I rubbed my head, feeling a migraine.

"Seems like I missed a party" I told him, smiling.

"Only thing you missed was a speech on how you need to be more careful" Justin told me. I laughed, guessing who said it.

"You owe me one James" I told him, smiling even more.

"Yeah…I know"

"And now you see why I said you wouldn't believe me"

"Shadow games…I don't think anyone thought they were real"

"Make that my fourth while in this tournament"

"Lets not let it get too high now"

"Yeah…just let me…let me"

I felt my energy leave me, then falling asleep then and there. The guys knew I was alright, just a bit of fainting. I hope they don't stand outside all night hoping I recover because I don't need that…I'm mainly glad that I don't have to break my promise. For one I'm still in one piece.


	31. aftermath

Chapter 31:

aftermath of the rescue

Now, as far as I can piece together, James and Elendil kept an eye on me most of the night, obviously worried about me. As far as I was told, (And the fact that I was only half asleep) they talked about what had happened, somehow relating that to the 'mysterious mark on my disk' and the way my personality changed during the duel (with James only just recalling it) to this tournament and the shadow games. Now, for the following, do note that my eyes are closed so I'm trying to place what they're doing from where I can hear them from and other hear say:

"He hasn't acted this way before" James told her, looking at me as the heart monitor beeped away (Why was I on a heart monitor?). "Nothing as extreme to hurting people"

"To be fair, was he trying to protect something back then?" Elendil asked back, James Shaking his head. "There's the answer then"

"When something would happen back home, he would try and get out of it"

"That's not the Dark I know"

"How long have you known him?"

"Not long, but he is a lot like Simon"

"Come again?"

"Simon will fight for a reason, mainly to defend something or something like that"

"And that relates to Craig How?"

"Dark…or rather, Craig would do anything to keep his friends and family safe" She looked back at James. "That should be apparent after all the shadow games he's been through to keep his friends safe…and even more so to keep you safe"

"To be fair on him, he does do a lot when his friends are in trouble if he can" James looked down at the floor, seeing my deck and disk.

"Exactly" Elendil leaned back on her chair, her arms behind her back as she yawned. "Dark is a better person then he seems to be according to you"

"He's my brother; I have to knock him down sometimes so that he can get back up on his own"

"As far as I have heard…he seemed to think you didn't like him what so ever"

"You'd be surprised" James yawned as well, looking out the glass pane as a doctor walked by. "Like I said before; he's my brother" he looked at me, smiling. "He looks out for me if he can and I look out for him to the best of my ability"

"That's brotherly love for you"

"What would you know about that?"

"I don't, but I have an older sister myself…oddly enough around your age"

"Let me guess; it's like a mirror between us and you two"

"Near enough, I just don't go as far as Dark does when looking out for people"

"I don't think anyone would"

"Isn't that more a blessing then a curse?"

"True, but still, he lets himself down by being silly"

"Isn't everyone sometimes?"

"Yet again, true…"

"Look, just admit that Dark, or Craig, is Dark, or Craig"

"I always have"

"You don't seem to show it"

"Trust me, I know Craig, and when he does something, then he doesn't do well"

"I seem to know Dark better, seeing as though he has gotten this far"

"Good point again…"

"Just be honest with me: would you say you and Dark had a good relationship?"

"No, he treats me like a nonce and I treat him like a brother, heck he doesn't even respect me" he stomped out after this. I managed to place his footsteps at the window.

"He has the utmost respect for you James" Elendil said to him, hoping he'd hear as he walked to his room I think. "You just need to see it"

I fell asleep proper then, waking up in broad daylight with the machine still beeping away. I got up, pulling the wires off me and putting my stuff on. One of the doctors ran in, thinking I was in 'Cardiac arrest' or whatever it's called.

"Sir, you must stay in bed until we've checked you" he told me, walking over to me.

"I'd rather not" I told him, putting my arm through my jacket sleeve. "I have to prepare for the coming matches"

"NO, you have to rest"

"Like hell I have to rest" I looked at him as I shoved my disk on. "I'm fine. F-I-N-E" Don't ask why I spelt such a simple word.

"But sir…"

"But nothing" I headed towards the door, watching it open. "I'm checking out, like it or not"

"But…"

"But nothing, Besides, I owe some people an explanation and I'm not going to waste my time in some cheap medical place I don't need to be" I stopped, lifting my bad leg up and holding it. "This is my only issue, and I can live with it"

"B…"

"Enough with the 'Buts', I'm going"

I walked out of the room, the door closing behind me with a bang, the doctor not bothering to follow. I wandered around the ship, hoping to get to my quarters. Apparently they had been set up in case the trip took more then one day, and I had to share a room with James. To be honest, I wasn't bothered who got where, so long as they were happy with it.

"I heard he jumped in a suicide attempt and the others went in to try and stop him" I heard someone say. I ignored him, looking around for my room.

"I heard he pushed them over, then when the other three got there, he claimed to want to save them and jumped in, injuring himself in the process" someone replied. Ok, I get who and what they're on about.

"Nah, too convenient"

"I heard the others were helping him try to kill off the competition"

"You mean like that Micelle fellow?"

"Yeah"

"Will you guys back off him"

The last one surprised as, as they had just been moaning behind my back about things. I turned around, seeing the 'golden knight' behind me. He was telling off some younger duellists.

"This man is a hero; he saved four lives that could have been lost"

"Well how do we know that he didn't throw them in the sea in the first place?" the boy replied.

"Simple, the captain has checked the camera systems and has seen no such incident of 'killing off the competition'" I gulped at this point, had someone else seen Squiddy McGee "they fell into the sea when the fog was thickest. This man dived in to save them near enough straight away, the other three helping him" ok, so he's not that bad. "Now, either learn to respect heroes or stay on this boat when we dock" ok, definitely better then I thought. He walked over to me, his stuff blocking just about any sight of his face. "You ok?"

"Apart from a bad leg, yeah" I smiled, looking at him in the…helmet.

"Just ignore the others; they don't know half of what's going on these days"

He walked off at this, leaving me to my own devices. I headed to my quarters, finding in little time after that. Amazingly, James was inside and asleep, snoring away to himself. To be fair on him, it must have been a long night, and after what happened, I wouldn't be surprised that the others would be doing the same thing…well, maybe not Ryan, but really, who knows? I sure as hell don't.

I took my leather jacket off as the heat was starting to turn up. We must have been getting close to the docks and our next stop. I headed to the restaurant, hoping to have a nice drink. So far, apart from the kids from earlier, I hadn't really seen anyone in here. Must be a quiet day, people getting stuff ready for whatever duels lay ahead…what lay ahead…why does that scare me at the minute? Most likely due to shadow games and what not.

"Well, someone finally gets out of bed" I heard someone say. I looked towards it and saw Simon.

"Hey Simon, what's up?" I asked him, stopping and smiling.

"Nothing much, just wondering what the hell happened to us four last night"

"That's…kind of a long story"

"Well, you may as well spit it out"

"I'll tell you later, meet me in my room later with the others and I'll explain all"

"So you mean…"

"What's going on with me is affecting you guys. I think it's time I explain about what's going on with me and the others involved"

"Finally"

"And while I'm at it…" I walked closer to him, putting my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for last night"

"Huh"

"You'll know what I mean later"

"Ok…you ok Craig?"

"Fine, why?"

"You're acting differently to how you used to" That's another one.

"I haven't noticed, thanks for letting me know" I took my hand off his shoulder, heading down the corridor" "See ya later Si"

"Yeah, see you later"

Moving on. The rest of the day went by quietly with me going to get a bottle of water, followed by getting some booster packs. They brought out a new one, premier for this tournament. 'Essence of might' apparently, a picture of Darkblade facing away from the 'artist' (Or whoever designed this pack) with his demon wing transparent. I bought two packs, getting out quickly and opening them to see what I had gotten.

I don't really know what I expected to find, but either way, I was over the moon with what I had gotten. 7 new cards, 3 copies. The new cards were Piercing Flamberge (the picture being a picture of a Flamberge with a red background. A hand right next to the hilt. When used, discard one card to summon a card from the deck to the field) Fallen Hope (A picture of Darkblade on he ground, presumably dead, and Ruby running over to him. It can only be activated when a blade series monster exists in both the field and grave and increases the fielded blade series monsters attack point value by 500 for every blade series monster in the grave) Winged armour (a set of majestic full plate with a pair of white wings. it can only be equipped to a warrior, but you gain life points equal to the damage the monster deals) The price of Freedom (A warrior in black with a massive greatsword which looks too big for him facing down an army of gunmen. Lose half your life points to special summon a monster from ANYWHERE, including the extra deck) Chaos Incarnate (a black tentacled thing latching onto a goblin, deal 500 Life points damage for every monster on the field to their owners) Dark-holy wrath (the mercenary hero (Why?) looking a lot more demonic, Darkblade watching him like a ghost and looking angry. When Darkblade the holy is in the grave, remove him from play to give one monster his effect and 300 attack points per monster in the grave) and Veil of Light (A monster surrounded in a white light. Lightblade watching as a ghost. When played, remove Lightblade the chaotic from play and equip this card to a monster. Draw three cards and discard one. The monster you picked is immune to the type of card you discards. One monster covers all effects, but you still have to battle them as normal) the other three were Dunames, Warrior returning alive and negate attack.

"These ought to do nicely" I said to myself, Darkblade appearing next to me closely inspecting his card.

"Do I really look that bad?" he asked me. If this were the anime, the sweat drop would appear.

"What are you talking about?"

"That 'Dark-Holy wrath' Card, do I really look like that when I…you know"

"No" I didn't even have to think to answer that.

"When I let Zanetsuka out, do I really look like the hero does there?"

"Nope" I put the cards into my deck. "You look cooler and stronger then him"

"That's what I wish to believe"

"Look, Buddy, it doesn't matter now does it?"

"Yes"

"Why?"

"Well…I like to impress my opponents on the field of battle"

"Ok, let me get this straight, you want to impress the guy you are trying to kill and who will try to kill you"

"Best way to be remembered, impressing the enemy" I held my head as i shook it.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're sane"

"You're the one talking to spirits"

"True, but still, if I'm insane, you're definitely insane"

"Good point, my lord"

"Darkblade…"

"CRAIG! I mean Craig"

"And you were doing so well"

"I know"

"Anyway, I'm going to tell the guys what's going on later…is that ok with you?"

"It's your decision Craig; we just have to hope it's for the best"

"And, if you don't mind me asking, I think you four know more then you're letting on"

"On what front?"

"When I said Dark, then the magic activation thing, that would have happened before then"

"So?"

"You guys know something that you're not telling me"

"What are you…we're telling you everything we know that we think you need to know"

"So there is stuff I don't know?"

"Yes"

"Anything relating to a 'Dark'?" Darkblade sighed at this.

"I go and check with the other three, see what we can dig up from our memories on 'Dark'. I'm not promising anything though"

"Just give it your best, Dark has to mean something for the magic to work in the first place, and it's not exactly a good password for anything" take it from one with personal experience. I had an account with Dark as a password…lasted 2 minutes.

"We'll report back later, hopefully after your talk is done"

"Good, and if I'm being paranoid at the moment, sorry"

"Relax, after what happened over the past 24 hours, I'm not surprised this is happening"

He disappeared, leaving me to my own devices for a bit. I guess I better head back to the room and see what I can muster up in the plans department for my deck, not to mention figure out what to tell the guys when they come along

* * *

yet again, i have to thank Andrew and Justin for the cards. there is a selection there. I've made up 2, the others are from Andrew and Justin.


	32. confessions

Chapter 32:

A tale to tell

Now, to be fair, when I got back to my room, I still didn't have any idea what to say to them to try and keep them out of my battles. These things were my concern; I don't want anyone to get hurt involved in something that they don't have to. They may be my friends, but still, I don't want them involved if it will hurt them.

"Come on Craig, think" I said to myself, relaxing on the bed with '1000 words' playing in my ears. "How are you going to tell them that loads of bad events are happening due to either a demon or an angel being in you along with duel spirits and a charm?" Not a tough call is it?

"To be fair Craig" Lightblade started, appearing next to me. "Why not tell them bluntly?"

"Put yourself in their shoes and take the details in" he scratched his back as he walked around.

"Good point, might be a bit unbelievable"

"_Bit_?"

"Well, quite unbelievable"

"_Quite_?"

"Ok, very"

"Thank you"

"But they took the shadow games thing easily"

"Shadow games we KNOW to be real, but Demons and angels and what not…different story altogether"

"Good point"

"It's another Yugioh cliché"

"What?"

"'Some mystical outside force that has transcended time and threatens the world' sounds oddly familiar"

"I see, but then again, how else do you expect them to understand and believe if you can't tell them the whole thing?"

"I guess I'm running up that hill" It's a within temptation song…at least the version I'm on about.

"Better then being an Ice Queen" another within temptation song

"Good point, but can we stop referencing within temptation now?"

"Fair enough"

"On a different subject, any luck with the 'Dark' thing?"

"None yet, but we haven't been hunting for too long"

"Well, keep hunting, there has to be some significance in that name for it to be a spell trigger"

He bowed before disappearing, leaving me in my room thinking to myself…for about 5 seconds before I heard a knock at the door, James wandering in.

"Just thought I'd knock and give you some warning" he told me before he climbed into his bed.

"Thanks" I told him.

"What's this I heard about you telling us about what's going on?"

"I'll tell you lot what I know, not what's going on as I don't know what's going on altogether"

"Well, what do you think it is?"

"In a major cliché, something or someone is using this tournament as a testing ground for his card making schemes"

"And what do shadow games have to do with this?"

"I think they were on to something when they disappeared or were attacked…maybe J.W knows something, but I doubt he'd tell me"

"And why would that be?"

"'Because I think he's a stuck up…person who doesn't care about his cards and deserves to rot"

"Maybe I should ask him"

"If you can, it'd save the arguments between me and him until the finals"

"Good, we have a plan there then"

"Of course"

"But why is card making evil?"

"It goes beyond that, I mean the blade series were the cards of my dreams, literally, until they were made about…what, a month before I got the cards"

"And why is that evil?"

"It just so happens that the synchro monsters are duel spirits and that the shadow games concern me"

"Duel spirits? Now that is a stretch of the imagination"

"You'd be surprised…heck, Silveneste saved your ass"

"Really?"

"Ask Justin, Andrew or Elendil and they'll tell you"

"All right I will"

"Fair enough"

We then went into an uncomfortable silence, which was only occasionally broken by the wild waves walloping our wacky boat…if you can think of something better, feel free to say it. It was a long cruise to Hawaii, considering we left from the closest port in America.

After about five minutes (And a look at my deck to make new plans, including counters to J.W's known cards) we heard a knock at the door, followed by Simon shoving the door open with the others following him.

"You banged?" I asked him, as part of a joke. He picked a good spot on the floor and sat down.

"I think some explanations are in order" he told me, followed by the others taking some spots and nodding, the door closing behind them.

"True, but would you believe me?" I asked them, sitting up and turning off my music. James flipped over, poking his head around the bed and looking at me.

"Who's to say? All you can do is trust your friends and family" he told me…damn him and his wisdom of age.

"Well…alright then" I started, looking between them. "It all started around 8 months ago" about a month before I got the blade series deck if you must know.

I basically explained all the details I knew, from the discovery of duel spirits, the dreams and the 'evolution' to the dreams, the mark on my duel disk and the shadow games…heck, I even told them about my theory on why this was happening.

"…last I knew with the dreams thing, Elendil was duelling me in a game, then she went into a cardiac arrest afterwards, then the unconsciousness event after Squiddy and learning about what is going on in me" I told them, finishing off my tale.

"So…what is inside of you?" James asked, still on his bunk above me.

"I don't know" I replied, looking at the ground. "But whatever it is, it took over with Squiddy"

"That would explain why you changed during the duel" Andrew told me. I looked at him, seeing him look annoyed.

"Oh god, I didn't snap at you did I?"

"Not much, just shouting at me that it wasn't the time or the place"

"And it was loud and fast" Elendil echoed. "You didn't even think about the reply before shouting it"

"I am so sorry for that" I told him, looking at the ground. "But…whatever this thing is took over then…I had no control over whatever happened"

"Relax, Craig, at least you didn't do anything worse" Simon told me…Ryan looked shocked at this.

"Oh crap, he could've killed someone" he commented.

"That is no way in my nature" I told him, a serious look on my face. "I am not going to kill someone unless it's in defence of someone and the person attacking them is armed and out to kill"

Ok, that was probably a bit too far there, but still, wouldn't you do the same thing if they were trying to kill you? I sure as hell would defend myself, any sane person would. Looked around, thinking Justin and Ryan were being a bit quiet.

"If this is turning into a Yugioh series" Justin started, then looking at me. "I'd say you have a Yami" I gave him a 'what the heck' look as he said that. "It all fits, a second personality, an item that channels it. Only difference is yours is unknown to you"

"He does have a point" Jack finally chipped in, looking quite smug with himself. "And that might be what the Light society are looking for"

"Light Society?" We all asked at the same time, looking at Jack.

"Yeah, a group of people who claim a demon/angel hybrid will come and save the world from the evils of another…or so a prophecy claims"

"If I sad the words 'Funny farm' or 'a happy place were life is beautiful all the time' or even 'cult', would that give any clues as to what I think they are?" I asked him, rhetorically speaking of course.

"That's what I thought the first time I heard about them, but in recent years, they have been gathering numbers"

"And…what does this have to do with Dark?" Elendil interrupted.

"Simply answered with two questions: the first one to Craig" he looked at me intently, James, Simon and Ryan looking at him. "Can you describe a Demon and an Angel from your beliefs Craig?"

"Yeah, easily" I answered, smiling. He rolled his hand round in a 'continue' fashion. "Demons fight a lot, they are willing to kill, commit evil deeds, defend him/herself to the end and mainly have red eyes and black wings, being fallen Angels, along with black hair and a feeling of chaos around them. Angels however, talk a lot more to sort out arguments, only kill as a last resort, devoted to good and holy, defends friends, allies and family to the end and mainly have silver or gold eyes and white wings, along with white hair and a feeling of peace around them. That any good?"

"Perfect. Now, Justin, Andrew, Elendil, do you mind telling us what Craig was like when he changed?"

"Well…" Elendil started, scratching her back.

"He was fighting a lot to save you guys, I'm sure that comes under defends friends and allies" Andrew told them, smiling.

"Yeah, but he was thinking more about himself then us three during that duel" Justin countered. Come on guys, keep it going, I'm sure Darkblade and co can use this to identify what's in me.

"He kept on fighting and there was a chaotic feel to him"

"But I felt peaceful, oddly, and he did talk" Elendil looked uncomfortable as the pair countered each other.

"What's up Elendil?" I asked her, everyone looking at her. She raised her head slowly and looked between us.

"It's just…when you played Valkyrie and Blessing of the fallen at the end of the duel, I could've sworn I saw you with a wing out your back…and a silver and red eye"

"Which side was the wing coming out of?"

"Well…it sorta stuck out both"

"So two wings?"

"Well…yeah, I think so"

"I didn't see anything" Justin commented, looking concerned.

"Me neither" Andrew told her. She just sighed as they said their pieces.

"How do we know that everyone must be able to see them?" I asked them, smiling. "It's like the duel spirits, not everyone can see them or communicate with them"

"Good point…but if Elendil can see them, and Justin and I can't…"

"A new sight" I told him, smiling and looking at Elendil. "What if she can see the divine?"

"Now that would be worth seeing" James told us, stressing 'that'. I'll be honest; I would love to see angels and demons

"It's not as good as you think, James" Elendil told him, holding her arm. "It basically contributes to my own duel spirit ability to talk to my monster"

"But to be fair, some people would die for said ability" I counter, smiling as I did so. "Besides, maybe you can ascertain what religion is real"

"You know, I hadn't thought about that" Elendil told me, smiling. "Thanks Dark"

"Your welcome…Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to catch some sleep for a bit"

The guys, including James, who shepherded the group, left me alone, closing the door behind them. I relaxed on my bed, thinking about the next stage, if we ever got there. I fell asleep, knowing that the next time I woke up, we would be in Hawaii. I choose to sleep in my clothes this once, only taking my gloves off and putting them on a side.

* * *

Tired, Tired and Tired…someone…send….wake up…pills.


	33. took long enough

I'm back, finally. Yay. I've been doing some things on YouTube relating to videos, so if you do have a look at my profile, you'll see a let's play series under development. My profile is the same name as this one is: thebladeofchaos

Anyway, moving on in the story.

Chapter 33:

Took long enough

More surprises

When you fall asleep, how do you expect to wake up in a boat? Do you think the boat will stop then you'll wake up? Maybe someone would wake you up just before docking? I think the method that some people got me up with is quite effective…

HONK!!!!

"JEEZ!" I shout, waking up with a start to the loud horn of one of those air horns right next to me. I sit up quickly, seeing James resisting the urge to laugh, along with Simon and Elendil who…seem to have lost that battle. Simon nearly on the floor in laughter. "Oh ha ha, bloody ha. Thanks for the early wake up call" I told them rhetorically. Simon's holding the horn…or, rather, was.

"You shoulda seen your face" Simon managed to say, laughing like hell on the floor. "The opportunity…was too hard to pass up" how the hell can he talk like that while laughing this much?

"I told them the joke about 3 types of people in this world" James explained, not laughing at all. "Those who can count…and those who can't"

Simon and Elendil laughed a hell of a lot more, the girl falling to her knees with her arms over her chest and the lad punching the ground as he tried hard to breathe. Me and James looked at each other, laughing a bit as well…well, more a chuckle, the amount of times he told that joke.

Let's just skip ahead to the moment when we actually become sane…a few hours away…actually just a few minutes. The pair of Simon and Elendil (Elendil looking red from my face at them for the whole joke) left the room, leaving me and James alone.

"So why did that happen?" I asked, jumping out of bed.

"I don't know" he told me, smiling.

"I'll get them back for this"

"We'll see" I looked at the bedside cabinet, seeing that my gloves were no longer there, along with a finely drawn silver sword on my duel disk.

"What the hell happened to this and my gloves?" I asked him, passing him the disk.

"Elendil had an artistic moment" Makes sense I suppose, didn't know she was that good. "And she sorta ruined your gloves"

"How 'ruined' are they?" if they're still usable, may as well do.

"She opened a window in her room, with the gloves in there for a bit of 'still life' painting. A sudden gust of wind blew them out into the ocean"

"Oh, so now what am I meant to wear?"

"What about nothing?"

"Are you kidding, my hands will get cold and I bet I'll get cuts" I pulling at straws here and I know they are lies but still…I liked those gloves.

"Relax; I got you a new pair"

He held his hand out and I could see a pair of silver outlined (the colour, not the metal, annoyingly) black gloves with the shape of an angel and demon on each of them. "Well, paid for them at least, Elendil was good with art and all"

"Beautiful" I told him, grabbing them and putting them on instantly. "Wow, fingerless as well…with a thumb bit!" you know what I mean, most fingerless gloves have the thumb exposed as well. These had it covered. "She's amazing"

"And I think she's your rival" he continued. I got off my bed altogether and looked at him.

"Come again"

"Think about it. Out of all your duels so far, whose been the hardest to beat?" her, I'll admit. "And who are you now friends with?" her again, along with Justin and Andrew. "She considers herself your rival"

"Well, I guess I've gotta keep getting better then" I told him, smiling and putting my disk on. "We can't be that far from port now, can we?"

"No. the amount of time we've been at sea I'm surprised we aren't there now"

Just as he finished saying that, the annoying tannoy thing started. Me and James both fell silent to listen to the announcement. 'Will all passengers please begin packing and get ready to dock; we are currently 10 minutes from our destination'. Well, that took bloody long enough. I think I've had enough of boats to last me a lifetime…that and seafood.

"Come on, we've gotta get started" James told me, pointing to the opposite side of the room. I turned around, seeing a big pile of clothes…I would say organised chaos but I reckon chaos is more organised then this.

"Hah, all I've gotta do is pull my suitcase out from under my bed and I'm done" I told him, smiling and doing exactly that. "I'll be back in 5 minutes…kay?"

"Fine. But next time you'd better be awake early" he warned.

"I'll be ready for that prank" I told him, leaving him to clear up.

To be honest, I wanted to check on Justin, Andrew, Simon, Jack, Ryan and Elendil. And seeing as though the rooms were very close together, I would have time. I decided to go and check on Simon and Ryan first, hoping that they weren't ripping each other's heads off in a duel. Well, when I got the door to their room open…

"GO Colossal fighter! End this with gargantuan might!" I heard Ryan shout.

"Life Bond, counter with trust flames!" Simon shouted back…yep, the middle of a duel. The two monsters attacked each, the shockwaves blowing me out of the room into the wall behind me. They both looked at me, the monsters stopping. "Oh, hi Craig"

"Remind me next time to knock before I enter" I told them, rubbing a now bruised head and learning a lesson. "You two ready to roll?"

"Have been for ages" Simon told me. I looked around the room, seeing it all nice and tidy.

"Ok…where is it?" I asked them, crossing my arms as my suspicions rose.

"All put away" Ryan told me, smiling. Simon pulled out two packed suitcases.

"Ok, so…you have put them away"

"No dur"

"That's not what I came here for anyway" I stepped into the room, seeing the pair sorting out their disks. "You seemed to take what I told you well"

"Well, it makes sense" Ryan told me, smiling again.

"Your personality change, you talking to yourself and the fact you and Justin and you talking privately quite often all fit" Simon echoed. "And this is following the anime in a sense"

"Yeah, but what I don't get is how you two have been so okay with my lie about duel spirits" ok, that was half a lie; it was how they found the 'thing within' so easy to accept.

"You'd be surprised"

"What? Have you got some as well?"

"I guess we'd better show him Ryan"

"You bet Kidd" to those of you who don't know, Simon's last name is Kidd.

"Show me what?" I asked. They looked at each other and nodded.

"Elencia, if you would" Simon spoke.

"Water spirit, let's rock" Ryan said to himself…well, I presume they are both talking to themselves.

But then… well, I didn't expect it. The green haired pegasi rider appeared next to him, her sword in its sheath at her side and her hand on the reins of her mount. So Elencia is a Duel spirit? I then saw Dragon Synchron and the Dragoneer appear next to her. Well, that answers that. I look at Ryan, seeing the Water Spirit, Speed Warrior and Tune Warrior appearing next to him. I was gob smacked at the time.

"You both can see them?" I asked them, pointing at them.

"We have a name, Sir Dark" Elencia told me. Darkblade appeared next to me at this.

"Another one who calls you Dark" he commented, holding his head in his hand.

"Meh, I kinda like it" I told him, smiling. "So how long have you known about them?"

"A day now" Ryan told me, scratching his head. "I was playing on my guitar and these guys just appeared around me"

"I was just going through my deck and the same thing happened" Simon told me.

"And this all began…" give me an answer lads.

"While you were out cold" so after squiddy's attack…I wonder

"Well, you've adapted quickly" I complimented them, Darkblade disappearing. "Have fun with them while you can"

I left them after this, closing the door behind me as Darkblade reappeared. He looked worried. "What is it?"

"We found something on 'Dark'" he informed me.

"And that would be?"

"He was a mercenary in my time, known for his heroic deeds on the battlefield and valorous deeds off it"

"And this relates how?"

"He was known for being a demon/angel hybrid"

"I'll repeat the question…"

"We reckon you've got his demon blood from that pentagram"

"Couldn't it be his angel side?"

"We really can't be sure"

"Well, I suppose I now know something at lease" I looked at the demon warrior with a smile. "Thanks"

"You're welcome 'Sir Dark'"

"Don't get me started on that"

He chuckled a bit before leaving me. I went further up the corridor to Jack and Elendil's room, knocking before entering. The pair were reading a few books on strategy when I entered…amazingly a copy of the 'art of war'.

"Knock knock" I told them as I entered. They both looked away from the books to look at me.

"Heya lazy bones" Elendil told me, smiling.

"Afternoon Craig" Jack told me.

"Yeah, I know" I looked at Elendil. "I'll get you back eventually"

"You can try and fail" she told me. That's one of my lines!

"Anyway, just thought I'd check up on you"

"We're doing well thanks" Jack told me.

"How are the duel spirits doing?" Elendil asked, looking at me while she was lying chest down on the bed.

"Mine are doing well" I noticed a little movement, just making out the shape of a monster. "What about yours?"

"I was wondering when you'd notice" she closed her book, standing up and walking over to me. "It's only the forgotten gunner, not the others"

"Others?"

"What are you two talking about?" Jack asked.

"You haven't seen the Jericho marines yet"

"Well then I guess that should be fun then"

"Guys…hello, stop ignoring me"

"What's this about you saying you're my rival?"

"I am, and I'm going to beat you one of these days soon"

"Well then good luck"

"Hello…anyone listening"

"Maybe after this…we could meet up and get to know each other better"

"Could be fun" is she coming on to me? "Anyway, I've gotta check on Justin and Andrew. So I'll catch you later"

"See you Craig" Jack told me, disgruntled.

"See you later Dark" Elendil told me, smiling. I got one last look at Jack, seeing a vague outline for, literally a second before it vanished.

I closed the door behind, not thinking much on the outline and heading yet further up the corridor to the final room: Justin and Andrew's. I knocked then entered, seeing the pair working on their decks.

"Well, at least something is normal" I told them. They both turned to look at me.

"Something going on Craig?" Andrew asked.

"Well, I've found out most of my friends are stranger then I thought and apparently 'Dark' is known in the duel spirit community"

"Normal day then"

"Yeah, so far" I chuckled a bit at this point.

"So what happened?" Justin asked, His Ebon and White Magicians appearing either side of him.

"Well, I found out that Elendil, Ryan and Simon can see and talk to duel spirits"

"I was wondering if they would get there eventually" he looked at me defensively. "I thought you couldn't be the only one in your group with duel spirits"

"I didn't believe in all that jazz before this tournament, now look at me, a walking bastion of it" I joked, laughing a bit to myself.

"So? It happens sometimes" Andrew told me, looking a bit down.

"What's up with you then?"

"Do you have any idea how badly this could go?"

"Come again"

"You and this Yami" D.D dark crow appeared near him. "If it's as bad as we think it is, you could kill someone…or worse"

"All I ask you do is believe in me and I'll keep it in check" I told him. Part of that is my motto.

"Well, either way, be careful"

"I will be" I put my thumb up to him and smiled. "I have amazing friends and brilliant comrades…who could ask for more?"

"Money" Justin chipped in.

"True" I backed up to the door, seeing a Dark Blade appear near Andrew, getting it's swords ready to slash at me. "I think I'll just leave now, bye"

You've never seen me run so fast in my life. It was rude, I'll admit, but I don't want to turn into a chopping board. So just about everyone has a duel spirit sight thing…and Simon and Ryan got it after Kraken boy was beaten…could it be that James can see them as well? Nah, he'd probably run like hell when he saw his monsters running towards him. I think I'll take a breath of fresh air on the deck before we dock.

That pretty much sets the next scene. I did have some more cards to work in, but annoyingly, I couldn't. I'll try to update more, but with my recent Youtube debut, I'm going to have to split my time even more. Sorry.


	34. so much for fresh air

Chapter 34:

So much for fresh air

With everyone that I was travelling with, apart from my brother, getting a duel spirit, I didn't feel so…I don't know…crazy…odd even. I think it was more the idea that I was hiding it from my friends that made me feel so strange. Now, standing at the front of the boat with the wind in my face, I feel…normal, you know. (Even though this technically isn't normal) I still couldn't see land yet.

"So we've all got duel spirits now" I said to myself, smiling while leaning on the bar. "That's awesome"

"It might not be" Ruby told me, appearing.

"Can't I have a few moments of talking to myself please?" I told her, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Sorry" she simply said, disappearing.

"Thank you" now where was I? Oh yeah. "We've all got someone for when we're alone…and I guess someone to send messages with" I looked up at the sky, seeing a few seagulls flying around…I resisted cracking a joke. "But where does this lead?"

"Can I say…?"

"LONE TIME"

"Sorry" anyway…

"If we've all got duel spirits then why doesn't James?"

That was the biggest question…for all I knew, he did have one, we just didn't know about it yet. I heard some footsteps behind me, turning round and seeing the man himself, looking quite…freaked out to say the least.

"Can't I have some time alone?" I moaned, turning back to the sea. James walked up next to me, looking in the same direction.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked. I looked at him, seeing him looking relaxed.

"You just have done" I joked, smiling. "But go on"

"How do you tell if you have a duel spirit?"

"I would have thought that was obvious wouldn't you?"

"Just answer the question"

"You see the monster on the card; can talk to it and so on, but no solid feel to it if you try to touch it"

"Then would you say that the things behind me are duel spirits?"

He pointed behind him, to which I turned my head melancholically. Now, from what I know of James' deck, I expected a few small monsters. (He worked on it over the years with my help) but…what I saw was a Darkfire soldier (number one if you're interested) Dunames dark witch and some…soldier with those pyrefly things from FFX. I turned to James, looking bemused.

"Yeah, I guess they qualify" I told him, smiling. "Welcome to the ranks of the insane"

"Why the heck are these guys around?" He asked me.

"Well, they are the spirits of one of your cards, Dunames, Dark fire and…whose he?"

"The unsent soul of war" (warrior, -3, 2100, 1500) James crossed his arms as he turned around. "He's the one I'm freaked out about"

"Hey, be fair, at least you haven't got something weak and ugly" NOT kuriboh, before you think I'm moaning about it. "Besides, I reckon we all have duel spirits now"

"You mean…"

"Yep, Simon and Ryan have some from yesterday, Elendil…I don't know how long and Justin and Andrew have some"

"And through some coincidence we've all met up"

"Exactly"

James looked out to sea again, deep in thought. I kept an eye on his monsters, seeing them just talking quietly to each other. I turned to James, hoping he was alright.

"Next round has a special rule" he told me, turning to look at me. "Apart from the fact I'm duelling, it's a tag force round"

"Tag force?"

"You know, share the same field, different decks and same life points of 8000"

"So tag team duelling basically"

"Exactly"

"Should be fun"

"I have a feeling Ryan and Simon are teaming up, as are Andrew and Justin. So that leaves you, me and Elendil"

"Well…let's decide later"

"Fair enough"

We turned to head back to the cabin, getting to the stairs before…well, the events at the hospital repeating themselves…in a way. First, my deck glowed, to which me and James both looked at it in amazement. I pull out the card that glows and it has silver flames around it this time.

"What the hell is going on?" James asked.

"Magic I suppose" I told him, still holding the flaming cards. "Any time now…"

The flame died out, leaving a card held in my hand. Ruby's portal. Nice. A spell which allows you to summon a monster from your deck on the opponent's field and you get one from the grave. The level for the monster increases by one, but the attack drops to zero. It's her signature move I suppose.

"Nice" I said to myself. James still looking at the card.

"There's more" he told me. I moved the card to the left slightly, seeing 5 more cards…all blade series monsters.

"Awesome" I commented, checking through them. "These should be a great asset"

"Look later, get stuff now" James told me. He was right, we had a place to go to.

"Coming"

* * *

Right, due to being…well, lazy right now. Here are the new cards and effects for the 5 I said but didn't if you catch my drift.

Blade Defender (Lv 2 Earth Warrior Atk 600 Def 1500) effect While this card is face up on the field, your opponent cannot target any other Blade Series monster by card effects. If this card is in the grave, you may remove it from play when your opponent attacks a Blade Series monster you control. Negate the attack and end the battle phase.

Blade Archer (lv 3 wind warrior atk 1200 def 600) effect: This card may attack the opponent directly. If this card deals direct damage (aka damage opponent by a direct attack), it is destroyed at the end phase. If this card is destroyed by a card effect you may tribute one spell or trap you control to special summon it back to your field.

Blade Arcana (Lv 6 dark spellcaster atk 2000 def 100) effect: When a Blade series monster is destroyed by battle, you may equip it to the monster that destroyed it in battle. As long as this card remains on the field, all monsters equipped by a monster card looses 100 atk and def equal to the equip card's lvl. You may only equip one blade series monster once per turn.

Blade Master (Lv 8 Earth Warrior Atk 2800 def 1800) Effect: This card cannot be special summoned except by the effect of a blade series monster. This card inflicts piercing damage. If this card destroys a monster by a result of battle, you can return one blade series monster that is removed from play to the owner's deck and shuffle it. If this card is removed from play, return all cards removed from play to the owner's deck.

Blade Trainer lvl 1 light spellcaster atk 0 def 0 Tuner/effect: Once per turn, you can send a blade series monster from your deck to the grave. This monster's name is then treated as the sent monster's and gains lvl equal to the sent monsters lvl. (add the sent monster's lvl to Trainer)

I must say thank you again Justin, for the cards. And Andrew, sorry about last chapter.


	35. Another companion

Right then, back on with the show and a new 'hero' *evil laugh* any who…where was I?

* * *

Chapter 35:

Another companion.

Three things come to mind right now as we leave the boat…yawn. Blink. Slap self silly.

"Craig, what are you doing?" Simon asked, Justin and Andrew looking as confused as he was.

"Sorry, just slightly tired" I replied, smiling.

"Slightly?" Justin asked.

"Good enough to ride"

"Really?"

"Yes…come on, I've been through worse"

"True, considering the shadow games"

"Enough talk, let's just go" James moaned. He had a point, driving off with the lads in his car.

"Wait up" Elendil told him, riding off on her D wheel. I rode after her, smiling as she somehow did a wheelie.

Hawaii: A collection of islands located in the middle of the ocean, part of the US and, I suppose, Andrew's favourite type of shirts. I looked more at the surrounds then the road, comparing this to the America I saw when over there. The island was relatively small, the sea washed upon the beach leaving behind white foam, the top…well; let's just say I wouldn't want to roll down it anytime soon. The trees were just about everywhere up the mountain (or rather volcano or whatever it is) and birds sang in them.

"This place is beautiful" I said to myself…probably a bit too loud.

"Well, what do you expect? It's one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world. Something has to be bringing them here" James told me over the telecom.

"He has a point Dark" Elendil chipped in.

"I know, but I never dreamed it'd be this good" I retorted. I heard someone laugh a bit.

"Come on Craig, nothing is how we expect them to be" Jack told me.

"Good point" Simon concurred.

"The roads lead us by the shore, so you probably want to stay on them around the turns" Jack told us.

"Do you think you can handle them James?" Justin asked my brother.

"Sure, this old girl'll take it" he answered.

"I don't think it's him we need to worry about" Andrew chipped in, looking out the back of the car at me and Elendil. "Are you two going to be ok on those things?"

"Hey, we're pros, just watch and learn" Elendil proudly told them, smiling. I just nodded, raising a hand for my own little salute. A phone could then be heard ringing in the car.

"Hang on" Justin told me. I could see him going into his pocket and pulling out a phone. "Austin?"

"Austin?" Andrew asked, looking at his mate. "I was wondering if he'd get in touch"

"Um, if I may" Jack started, looking at the pair. "Who's Austin?" Justin took the call, Andrew looking at Jack.

"He's a friend of ours back home, leader of the 'ZS'. I'm vice master, Justin is an 'elder' and Austin is leader and law maker"

"That sounds quite entertaining" I cut in. Andrew looked backwards to look at me.

"It is, considering there's more then just us three"

"Oh, I thought it was you three, sorry about that" I smiled nervously after saying that.

"To be fair, I only said us three, so I guess you could have just assumed"

"Thanks Austin" Justin finished, ending his call. "Well, he's at the next stage"

"What, duelling?" I asked, to see a nod. "Well, the more the merrier I guess"

"Agreed. And it sorts out the team up problem" James replied.

"Team up issue?" Jack asked.

"Next stage is a tag force round"

"So now we have…what?" Elendil started counting on her fingers. "Me, Dark, Justin, Andrew…8 people"

"4 teams" Ryan commented, then smiling (I can just see it.)

"Should be fun" Justin commented.

"Just remind me why we're not talking about what happened on the boat?" Andrew asked.

"Because we don't have to" I told him, smiling. "I'll handle that myself, Andrew"

"But shouldn't we be talking about what we do if it happens again?"

"No because I'll handle it"

"But what if…"

"Relax Andrew" Jack told him. Andrew turned towards the salesman. "If it happens it happens, we'll let Craig deal with it up to then, then do what has to be done when it does happen"

"Makes sense" I commented.

The rest of the ride was oddly quiet, like we weren't there at all. All you could hear were engines, coughs, sneezes and breathing. I watched the scene pass by me, enjoying the views of the island as we went by them. After a while, we got to the top of the mountain, where we stopped. Everyone getting out/off and stretching their legs and arms.

The view from the top was BEYOND amazing…I don't know how to describe it, but it was a hell of a long way down, with lots of trees, flowers, animals and the sea, along with a beach. If duel academy was set up here, man must they have edited a lot out when they did an aerial view.

"If you look to the…east, you'll see it" Jack told us. Everyone looked at him in amazement.

"How do you know?" Andrew asked.

"Simple, I looked at the map before hand"

"Right" sarcasm much?

"Look, we're nearly there. Leave the arguments for the duels" James interrupted.

"Jack doesn't duel" I told him, slapping my face gently.

"Gentleman, Electric Elendil's are proud to sponsor the match of the centaury" Elendil joked, pretending to have a microphone and walking between the two. "In this corner, Andrew, in that corner, Jack…"

"I think it might be wise to…" Justin started.

"FIGHT!"

"£50 on Andrew" Ryan told Elendil

"Knock it off!" Simon shouted, pushing Elendil from between the two and looking round the group. "We're here as friends, alright? Now let's act like it"

"But don't you get the feeling he's hiding something?"

"Nope" I answered. I trusted Jack; he wouldn't lie to us about this stuff. I doubt he's hiding anything anyway. "Look, shouldn't we get going rather then arguing about junk?"

"He's right, now before we argue again, get in!" James told them, walking over to his car.

The other guys just followed suit, slowly getting into the car. Jack and Andrew took the longest, purposely finding spaces away from the other. Me and Elendil got onto our bikes, stretching our arms and setting the things up. I think we needed longer to stretch off then we got, so I wouldn't be surprised when we get to the place we have a bit of cramp.

The rest of the journey was silent, apart from the obvious. We eventually got to the academy, which didn't really have too much to see to be honest. We then proceeded to be pushed into the main building and into a few seats. Justin and Andrew were behind me, the others a row in front. James took one to the right of me, Elendil to the left. Someone looked odd next to Justin and Andrew, but we didn't really pay him any attention.

"Duellists, one and all, welcome to Duel academy!" we heard someone shout. We looked to the centre to see that…erm…what's his name? You know the…guy? That…chancellor…guy? "To those of you who don't know…" please say a name. "I'm the esteemed Chancellor…" go on, say it. "…and maker of Cyber style…" please say it. A dramatic pause occurred. "…Who is here to guide you in this stage of the tourney"

You know in the anime where the guys would just fall down head first somehow with their legs up above their heads and moving every so often…that happened. I felt like an idiot for forgetting his name. James and Elendil looked at me, watching my feet twitch then just shrugging and turning back to the guy in the centre.

"A little help" I told them, trying to get back up. They both ignored me, dodging the flailing feet. I somehow fought my way back up, my feet hitting James' head and latching onto his seat. "Just ignore me then!"

"I was" He told me, smiling. "And it's Sheppard"

"Thank you" whoever made him say that, thanks.

"This round of matches shall include tag force matches and one other item"

"This could be fun" Simon commented, James looking surprised.

"I wasn't filled in on this" he told us.

"To be fair, you probably lost the right to know when you became a duellist like us" Elendil told him, smiling.

"You were an official?" that boy next to Justin asked. Me and James turned around to look at him.

"Yeah…didn't you see the opening exhibition?" James retorted. The lad looked a bit dumbstruck as James asked this.

"I…wasn't at that match" he replied, looking at the ground. "Sorry"

"Either way" I butted in, smiling. "I'm Craig, but I prefer being called Dark. that's James" I started to point around the group. "That's Simon; next to him are Ryan and Jack. The lovely lady here is Elendil and the two next to you are…"

"Justin and Andrew"

"Justin and…" I stopped realising what he just said. "You recognise those two and not the rest of us?"

"I know them from back home"

"Just thought we'd tell you after all of this" Andrew told us, smiling. Justin looked at us as well. "That's Austin, Leader of the 'ZS'"

"Oh…well, pleased to meet you mate" I held my hand out.

"Same here" he gave me five…not what I was expecting. "I'm guessing you don't mind if I tag along, do you?"

"Hell no" James looked at me oddly, as did Austin. I guess I could have worded that better. "You can come along if you want. The more the merrier"

"He's damn well coming along" Justin told me, looking smug. "Heck, we even organised teams"

"Really?"

"In this section of the event, we challenge not only your duelling skills, but your minds as well" Sheppard continued, causing us to shut up and concentrate. "As an academy, we set tests as well as duels" he looked around, smiling. "The finest get the best dorms and vice versa. During your stay, you must follow our rules…however, we might not even set up the test thing, so take where you want tonight, and we'll see what we here at duel academy decide to do"

Ok, now I'm scared. It's not that I'm not smart, it's just I'm not exactly the best in terms of Yugioh knowledge. I have a feeling I'll be the flunky of this group for some reason.

* * *

Hey, if it works then it works. I just thought it'd be something different. It's not set in stone and what not, so if you don't want the tests to happen, then tell me, alright?

And here we have Austin. I'm not sure if I said everything right in this chapter, but I've done what I can with what I know. And Austin, I don't have the details I asked for so I'm having to assume from Andrew's stories. Sorry if I've got anyone OOC, but I've done the best I can.


	36. Cram revision and Flat screen dreams

Right, I have a bit of news. I'm going to do a few more chapters of this story before splitting it into 2 different parts. I.e. Pathway to Darkness season 1 and 2. this is going to be a long story (from the humble beginnings of…me and company right through to the final duel) so it's going to have to be split off at some point so you don't have to go through wades of text to find one specific part…and I'm getting close to my 50 chapter mark.

Any who, I'm ending this 'season' in around 10 chapters, less if needed. Then starting season 2. I'll let you know what the final chapter of this season is when I start it.

Now, after that, Let's get this show on the…screen I suppose.

Chapter 36:

Cram revision and 'flat screen dreams'.

The guys and I all agreed to start off in the 'Slyther red' dorm, wanting the GX experience. I was put in the same room as Simon and Jack, claiming top bunk as I lunged in. Ryan took the bottom bunk with Jack in between. I didn't know how the other…6 (is it? (James, Elendil, Simon, Austin, Justin, Andrew…yeah, 6)) had arranged, but to be fair, I only really thought about 5 of them. How they would organise and so on. I knew Justin had a good defence, and Andrew knew his partner's plan, so they had time to organise, but Elendil, James, Simon and Ryan. They could come up with good plans with their decks. Our rooms had been kitted out with TVs in case we got bored.

"Name 4 ritual monsters and their summoning cards" Jack spoke.

"What?" Ryan asked.

"Name 4…"

"Black Luster soldier with Black Luster…Ritual I believe" I started, sounding melancholic. "Fortress Whale's oath for Fortress Whale. Garma sword oath for Garma sword and Performance of sword with…erm?"

"Go on"

"I'll change that to Curse of the masked beast for The Masked Beast"

"Correct"

"What is this? A cram session?" Ryan asked

"Questions likely to come up on the test" Jack replied. I rolled over to look down.

"Can't hurt to learn can it?" I told him, smiling.

"I know enough though" Ryan complained.

"Well, it's always good to revise" you overconfident…person

"Next one: what fusion material monsters do you need for Elemental hero tempest?"

"Avion, Sparkman and bubbleman"

"Correct…and what type of cards are there?"

"magic, trap, ritual, effect, monster, synchro, fusion and…dark synchro?"

"correct: now, what conditions can a 'Zanetsuka' spell card be played under?"

"If Darkblade the holy is on the field or grave"

"What effects?"

"Darkblade gains 500 attack points. If he is in the grave, you may special summon Shadow Saviour Darkblade and still gains 500 attack points" that one's a little obvious, considering he's my most powerful card.

It basically went on like this, with Jack asking More and More obscure questions each time. Ryan eventually got bored and put on the telly, finding that replays of the duels were on. (No I'm not going into one of those 'remember when…' moments when they normally do a clip show).

"Name the material monsters needed to summon Bullshock Dragon"

"Wrong game Jack" he's in Duel masters for some reasons…and now we return to normal programming.

"Hey, check this out" Ryan told us. We all fell silent as we looked at the TV, seeing the dorm we were in on the screen and a 'Live' icon in the corner.

"…Thanks Mac. We're live outside of the Slyther red dormitory as we attempt to find and interview an up and coming star in the tournament" the journalist, called Felicity Bendal, told the camera, standing behind it. I assumed she wore formal clothes.

"And Felicity, what can you tell us of this duellist?" the newsreader asked.

"Well Mac, he's been in 30 duels so far, and each has been a fight for survival so far" the camera started going on the move towards the dorms. "But he has always made a comeback in fantastic style" Am I that famous?

"Why do I have a feeling it's you?" Ryan asked me.

"They said they were going to try and get an interview with me before" I answered.

"Dueling weekly is proud to present…" the camera was now moving along the balcony on the upper floor silently, some footsteps behind it. They stopped outside a door, knocking on it just as a knock came on ours.

"It can't be" Jack commented, getting off the bed and walking to the door.

Now, picture the scene if you will. Footsteps are heard on the TV as Jack steps loudly towards the door. The knocking comes again as the camera man knocks on the door. As our friend opens the door, the door on the TV opens as well. I thought we were about to see the camera outside.

"Hello?" Jack said as he opened the door fully. The door on the screen was fully opened, showing Simon.

"You seen the news?" Andrew asked, as he walked in. I fell out of bed as the suspense 'killed me' "What's up with Craig?"

"Oh…Just some connection issues" Jack told him.

"More or less flat screen dreams" Ryan joked…I didn't get it.

"Well…apparently Simon's about to be interviewed" Andrew told us, sitting down next to my head. "You can get up now" I stayed silent.

"He'll be there a few minutes"

Ok, I'll be honest; I didn't get up because I was stuck. Somehow my foot had gotten stuck on the bed with my nose stuck under the bottom bed. And my mouth…well, I just wanted to stay silent and work my way out. I don't know how I somehow pulled off the impossible in one move…even trying to fight my way out of it.

"So Simon" Felicity started. "How does it feel to be in the second round of the tournament?"

"I'm overjoyed" he cheekily told the interviewer. I moved my head round, freeing my nose (painfully) to look at the screen. "I mean, not everyone gets this far in this big a tournament"

"And how are your friends and family reacting to this news?"

"Their all overjoyed as well. In fact I've been told that their rooting for me and my friends"

"Which brings us to the next question: whose here with you?"

"Well, my best friend's brother, James…"

"Hello" James spoke, as if on queue.

"Elendil, our newest friend"

"Howdy" she replied, swinging over the edge of the bed and her head appearing on the screen…upside down.

"Along with Craig, my best friend, or Dark as we call him, Ryan, another friend, Jack, a non-duellist, Justin, Andrew and Austin from America"

"Any plans for the next few duels?"

"Just do my best and put my trust in my deck"

"Thank you Simon" the camera pans round to look at the journalist…who isn't the best looking person in the world. "Well, strong words from a strong duellist here tonight, we wish him and his friends the best of luck here tonight"

"Felicity thank you" 'Mac' tells the journalist, ending the report.

"Well, looks like they got on TV" Ryan commented. I started my fight back up.

"So that's what you were on the ground for" Andrew told/asked me.

"Yeah…that and I got stuck" I told him. I started randomly swinging in an attempt to reach my trapped limb.

"So how are you three settling in?" Jack asked Andrew.

"Well…brilliantly in my opinion" he looked around as he saw me swinging. "But I think Justin is finding it hard"

"How come?" I asked him, managing to reach my foot and seeing it trapped.

"Well, after the whole incident on the boat, some old family things have come up in his head and made him a bit…off"

"How much 'off'?" I asked, freeing my foot and falling again, this time hurting my backside.

"Well, slightly sadder then before" he looked between us and looked concerned. "I'm going around the rooms and saying the same thing: go easy on him for a bit, ok?"

"Not a problem" I told him. Standing up and rubbing my behind.

"Anything for a mate" Ryan told him.

"Thank you, now I must be off" he left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Well, that was nice of him" I commented, getting back onto my bed.

"Yeah…he looks out for his friends" Jack moaned/told us.

"I do…I saved you guys from 'Squiddy'"

"So is that his name?"

"Never bothered to learn it"

"So what happened to him after you won?"

"You know in the anime when they lost they would 'join the stars'?"

"Yeah"

"That"

"You sent him to join the stars"

"Not me personally, but I won the duel"

"Craig, that is kinda evil" Ryan told me

"How was I supposed to know it would happen?"

"You could have taken the precaution"

"What precaution can you take against supernatural occurrences?"

This argument continued long into the night, with us stopping when we heard Justin shouting. Following which, Andrew shouted to us: "Don't worry; he's just had a REALLY vivid nightmare!"

"I know the feeling!" I shouted over to him. Hey, half the time, my dreams give me Déjà vu later on…well they used to.

"Everyone get back to sleep!" James yelled. I looked at my watch…seeing a weird time.

6:66 pm.

"My watch appears to be broken, so what time is it?"

"MIDNIGHT! NOW SHUT THE…" Ignored that bit as I could tell what he said.

"SORRY!"

And thus I went to sleep, Justin's loud shout and Andrew's words on my mind.

Ok, with the 6:66pm thing, I was hoping to catch some people out. it doesn't have any really significance I was just wondering if people would fall for it and think something was supposed to happen.


	37. Examinations NOOOOOOOOOO

YES, I'M NOT DEAD, I'M STILL HERE!

Sorry, just been working on my 'let's play' series and…well, I hit a HUGE mountain of writers block, and the infinitesimal challenge of a rubix cube (Next time I'm getting 6 paint brushes and paint  ) along with my duke of Edinburgh which helped me out

I told someone that I'd have something done in 5 more chapters (7 two chapters ago I believe) and am trying to keep to that mark, might be where I end this 'season'.

* * *

Chapter 37:

Examinations…NOOOOO

We were all crammed into a classroom, exactly like they are in the series. Crowler (you know, the guy from ages ago) came around, handing out papers. This was a two hour exam, and as such, we knew it was long.

Now, the rest of the guys, excluding Justin, James and Ryan, (Jack's not involved for not being a duellist, but J.W. is) looked confident, smiling to each other as they saw the paper (well, the closest Simon ever got to a smile in exams I suppose). James looked like he was about to let one go (and I mean break wind not…you know…then again…why is James in this exam anyway?) Ryan looked half asleep. Well, he had stayed up half the night reading Manga comics. (He offered me one but I choose to sleep)

As for Justin…the only way to describe how he looked is like this: it was as if death had met him and he only just won. No scars (at least not physical) but something had happened. I knew it.

As for me…I presumed I looked LIKE death. I wasn't confident AT ALL and everything just ran out of my head. This wasn't like me. Normally I'd be confident and relaxed and the test would be a breeze.

"The time is 10:00, you may begin" Crowler told us, standing behind the desk at the front. We all opened the tests, beginning to scan through the questions. The first question was simple. "Name 7 different card types"

'Monster, effect, magic, ritual, trap, fusion and Synchro' I wrote, smiling as I felt I got it right. Next one:

"Cards required to win by Exodia"

"The forbidden one, left arm and leg and right arm and leg of the forbidden one" another one I felt I got right. I flipped the page, seeing a chess set printed.

"Achieve checkmate" the pieces were scattered.

'What does this have to do with duelling?' I thought to myself.

"Knowing when to trap your foe and when to advance, sacrificing pawns for stronger pieces" Lightblade told me, appearing out of nowhere.

"At least hide, I don't want to be accused of cheating via duel spirit" I thought, hoping he could somehow hear me…actually I think he did before so…

"Sorry"

He disappeared, leaving me to my thinking during the exam. The questions followed a weird idea, skipping from yugioh to something seemingly unrelated. (Who cares about the battle of Barhara…in fact where is Barhara?) Others were unusually bizarre (Number of games made by Koei that incorporate the title 'warriors')

An hour later, after answering these questions, I felt I had done the best I could. I looked through my answers. Some of the better questions in my opinion were as follows, along with my answer:

Card required for summoning the Atlantean knights: Atlantean oath (Random guess. Did they even publish those cards?)

Fusion for five god dragon: any five dragons

Effect of Buster Blader: increase attack power by 500 for each dragon on the field

Spell Mississippi, without looking at how it's spelt in the question: Mississippi (a bit obvious as you have to look at it to know what to spell)

What grade do you want: A, B, C or D: B (Not too ambitious, but not too dear)

If a card is not affected by traps attacks someone who is using Astral and spirit barrier, what effects take place?: (This was a hard one, but multiple choice. Either normal effects (nothing done) the monster is destroyed with no damage done, the opponent still loses life points but no monsters destroyed or neither traps work) I took option C

I swear they ran out of ideas for good questions.

"Your time is up" Crowler told us, everyone looking at him as he stood up. "You slackers…" bit too early for that Crowley "you're allowed to wander the grounds as you see fit. Results will be ready tomorrow"

We all filed out in silence, leaving the room and starting to talk when we had left. Me and James started talking with his casual first line of:

"I thought I was going to drop a bomb in there" I nearly laughed, but then just smiled.

"You're not normally like this" I told him.

"Yeah, well, when things go wrong, things go wrong…plus you remember my habit?"

"Farting when scared" It's a joke we often have back home, whenever James gets scared, he coincidentally breaks wind most of the time. It is half a laugh but half annoying…just all about timing.

"Well, how do you think you did?"

"I think well" I spied Justin and Andrew over on another side of the room, deciding to leave them to whatever they were doing. "Oh yeah, who are you teaming up with for the tag duels?"

"Well, I know Justin and Andrew are teaming up, as are Ryan and Simon…"

"So that leaves me you and Elendil"

"With J.W offering to team up with whoever's left" did I hear that right?

"The duel king is in this as well?"

"Even he has to fight his way through the competition"

"Well be honest with me" we walked out of the academy, looking around for a quiet shaded spot. "Who would you prefer to team up with?"

"Well, you or J.W"

"How come?"

"You're my brother…Dark, and brothers stick together. And If I went with J.W, It'd be a walk in the park."

"So if I teamed with Elendil you wouldn't mind?"

"Not really" So much for brotherly Love.

"What are you two talking about?" we heard someone behind us ask, turning round and seeing Elendil.

"Teams" James told her., looking at me. "Just wondering who's going with whom"

"I'll take Dark any day" no pressure, annoy my brother or annoy Elendil. Could be fun.

"When's the deadline to have teams in?" I asked, scratching the back of my head.

"3 days"

"Great" I sarcastically told them. I had to weigh up these two in my head to see who would be best to join…I refuse to go with J.W. "Which of you two would like to go with J.W?"

"I'd prefer to go with you, Dark" Elendil replied, looking at James.

"Same here"

"So J.W is practically a no-no" we had practically walked onto some beach.

"Exactly" James told me.

"Great" again, sarcastic. We stopped and sat down, looking out towards the horizon.

"So, you've gotta pick one of us in two day" Elendil told me, almost smiling.

"Great" have a guess.

"Why not take the simple route" James started, standing up and smiling. "We leave him alone for a while to get things straight and let him decide"

"Sounds good" Elendil replied, standing up as well.

"Why are you two asking me to be your partner when you have each other or J.W to pick from?" I asked them, well it had to be asked.

"Well, the obvious is friends and family" James answr. true.

"Then again, we saw thew way J.W treated those cards and want the same thing" Elendil continued. nice.

"So you two want to knock him down then?" I asked, seeing the pair nod. "Well...I'll think about who to team up with, but don't be offended if i don't pick you alright?"

I walked off after that, leaving the pair to think. this one decision would affect my chances in this tournament, best to make it count


	38. Dueling with angels part 1

While I remember:

If, like me, you're a 'let's player' on youtube, or you would like to give people an idea of what to 'let's play' (which would help people like me out as it's hard to let's play a popular old game that is actually still popular) then come on down to the *clears throat* the *epic music* rubber ducky let's player's guild *end music* or something like that. Look up Mageknight404 on youtube, and then look for video 14/15 of his Genealogy of the holy war 'let's play' for a link (in the description) if you can't find it on google. (I've forgotten the link myself)

If the guys ask, I advertised on here 

Anyway, back to business

Ok, last duel. And I will be early on the info promise. I really need to work more on these…

Chapter 38:

Season Finale duel

Dueling with angels

Part 1

Chaos and Order

Dark and J.W

I went to a quiet bit of the island, near the cliffs. (That place where Jaden duelled Axel or whatever his name is in the Japanese one (I haven't seen it all, but I know the names are different like Jaden being Judai)) thoughts swam through my mind, like a school of fish in the ocean.

From what I've seen of Elendil's deck, she goes for elemental heroes and gunners…with a few angels…but then I haven't seen too much of it.

And comparing to James' deck, James seems to know what he's doing, but he has a 100% loss rate so far (at least from what I've seen). For someone who is Admin, he has a good deck, just unlucky.

"Isn't there some easier way?" I asked myself, lying on the ground with my arms behind my back. "It's only my brother and my friend…how hard could it be to pick?"

"Very by the sound of things" I heard Justin answer. I turned my head, seeing him walking towards me.

"Hey, Justin" I got up, walking towards him. "You ok?"

"I'm fine" I had a feeling he was lying but didn't pry "Listen, there's something I have been meaning to tell you"

"Oh? What's that then?"

"You know what you said about 'Squiddy' 'going to the stars'?"

"Yeah"

"Well, if we're in Yugioh, 'going to the stars' in the Japanese version is death, as is going to the shadow realm"

"So, in every duel that has been…strange, I've been playing for my life?"

"Damn 4Kids had to censor it for kids"

This was different to what I expected. I thought we'd just lose and have a small chance of returning after escaping…guess not. So now all of my clichés seem…insignificant compared to this…death in shadow games…that's extreme…and I killed Squiddy!

"Hate to interrupt this conversation" we heard someone speak. Both of us turned and saw…gold. Guess who. "So then…Dark…Justin"

"J.W" I answered solemnly. I didn't care how he knew about the Dark thing.

"Hello J.W" Justin replied, looking surprised.

"I'm here with a challenge" he paced around us, so I was closer then Justin. "Cameras are around here, recording at this very moment"

I pulled out my Duel sight, turning on the TV channels and switching over, seeing that he was telling the truth. Cameras were in the forest and, oddly, above us. I looked, seeing no such cameras. Neat.

"I challenge the black knight to an exhibition duel" J.W told me, holding his duel disk out. "No Penalties, no rewards. Just a standard duel between two duellists"

"Why should I duel you now when I can beat you later?" I asked. Justin looking at me.

"Could be helpful for future duels" he told me. True.

"But still, I could be giving away plans"

"So will I" J.W told me.

"True" I thought for a bit before activating my disk. "Very well, golden knight, prepare to lose to"

We both drew 5 cards and I turned off the TV on my sight, activating the card analyser (the thing that shows the stats of monsters (This was my only properly serious moment in this whole tourney)). I looked at my cards, seeing Chaos Knight, Holy Knight, Mercenary hero level 3, Negate attack and Dunames Dark witch. I looked at J.W, seeing him having already drawn.

"Heads or tails" he told me, getting a coin out and flipping it.

"Tails" I replied, Justin keeping silent. J.W showed me the coin, showing heads.

"I go first then" he draws a card, looking at it. "I place a monster face down in defence mode and place two face downs" he does as he says. "And that's the end of my turn"

"And starts mine" I drew a card, looking at it…Piercing Flamberg…Perfect. "I activate the spell card, Piercing Flamberg, so I discard one card from my hand" I show him Mercenary hero level 3, then place it in the grave. "and special summon a monster from anywhere in my deck"

I pull my deck out, seeing the top 8 cards are the blades series equip cards (i.e. Zanetsuka and so on) and the cards they summon. Phew, nearly lost in the first few turns. Where is he…there we go. "I special summon Mercenary hero level 7" I pull his card out, placing him on the field. A circle of light appears on the field, followed by some rune and finally the warrior appearing inside, floating off the ground. He swings his blade down, landing on the ground. His golden sword shines in the Hawaiian sun. I put the deck back in, letting it reshuffle.

"Next, I summon Dunames Dark Witch to the field in attack mode!" I place the fairy down, seeing her fly in…ok, a bit late to say, but technology has come far along these days. "Mercenary hero, attack his face down monster with Aether strike" I watch my hero run towards his monster, grinning as I thought about getting 'first blood' (long story short to those who don't know, first blood = first strike)

"Gabriel, defend me!" J.W shouts, flipping his face down monster. It's your basic angel, just holding a MASSIVE white shield. (Holy Guardian, Gabriel, 4 stars, 0 attack, 2500 defence) I watched the reading come up as the mercenary scratched the shield.

"You little…" I moaned, watching my hero jump back to next to my side, watching J.W.

"Due to my angel's effect, he shifts to attack mode following the damage step" the angel move his shield to his side, looking at my monsters.

"And leaves him wide open" I commented, pointing at his angel again. "Dunames, attack Gabriel with Dark light blast" My monster charged up the attack, another grin on my face.

"Reveal face down card. Door of blinding light" he flips the facedown card, showing a white light coming from a cloud (why a cloud?) "Now no monsters may attack for one full turn"

A blinding white light erupted from his side of the field. Everything and everyone covered their eyes to avoid being blinded or otherwise harmed. I saw my mage lose her spell as the light faded…well, I say faded, but the light remained as a white door. I saw J.W smiling through the armour.

"I place one card face down" I begrudgingly tell him, putting down negate attack. "And end it there"

"Thank you" he draws a card, placing it down. "I place a facedown, switch Gabriel to defence again and Summon Holy Crusader, Rafael"

He places another monster down, another angel comes floating in, this one armed with a sword and a shield. Its wings are clearly visible, and it is covered in armour from head to toe. I think it's that plate mail they used to wear in olden days, but the shield looks like a pactagonal (if you don't know what I mean, you need to check out Dragonfable's knights of the pactagonal table in the fort) it then morphs to a large steel (Or some other metal) pentagram shaped shield. The blade is more like a rapier then a proper sword, but it still looks as sharp as hell. (Holy Crusader, Rafael, 4, 1700, 1000)

"It's weaker then my witch" I tell him, smiling at his mistake.

"Oh my, what a mistake, how clumsy of me" he answers, sounding serious. "I'll end my turn there"

"Thank you" I draw again…Blade defender? Oh the new card…right.

Let's evaluate things at this point. He's left a monster that is weaker then my monsters out in attack. Normally that would be a noobish mistake, something I used to do. However, taking that in, this is J.W, the duel king for the moment, it's not going to be that simple.

It's a trap. It's gotta be. "I place a monster face down in defence mode" I put Blade defender down, hoping he would get destroyed in one go. "And then…I'll attack your Crusader with Dunames" the last few words were unsure of the action, but none the less, Dunames charged up again, firing the spell at the crusader.

"Effect activate, Gabriel, intercept!" J.W shouts. His guardian moves the massive hunk of metal from in front of him in front of the crusader, stopping the spell. "Gabriel can intercept one attack every turn. However, he shifts himself to attack mode as if he had taken the blow himself and the battle damage on both sides is reduced to zero"

Ok, I can see his smirk, he wanted me to attack with Dunames…but why? The only thing he's gained is force his own monsters into the open…something else is up. I know it. And I bet it's those face downs.

"I'll end my turn there" I tell him, he's still smirking but still I can't risk losing this early. How else will I learn his deck for the real thing? (before anyone says about 'look it up on the internet' or something like that, NO ONE has seen his whole deck, just the angel cards and Aqua Synchron…and then these weren't among them)

"Before I draw, due to you ending your turn, I activate the continuous trap called Solemn Wishes" J.W announces, revealing his facedown, exactly the same as all the other cards. "And considering the amount of times you've used this card you know the rule"

"You gain 500 life points every time you draw" I force out, gritting my teeth. This isn't good.

"Very good, so now, I draw" he pulls a card from his deck, a white light surrounding him as he did so and his life points increasing by 500. (4500) he looks at the card, nodding. "I summon Holy warrior, Lucifer" this one, instead of floating down like the others, came out of the ground. I knew Lucifer was the name of the devil, being a fallen angel, but did they have to take it so literally? (4, 2000, 0) "This is where the angels make there mark"

"You'd like to think that, but there's only one card you can attack and win against, and that's Dunames" I inform him, smiling.

"Oh really? Rafael, destroy his face down monster"

I watched as his warrior raised its blade, a light flipping my face down warrior. The warrior was covered in armour with a shield in each hand. The shields had a long spike on the end, so they could fight with them.

"Trap activation. Negate attack!" I shouted, revealing my facedown. His monster stopped, lowering its sword. "Not today J.W!"

"I will get by in time" he told me. I looked at the soldier.

"Close call there buddy" I told him, he looked at me and nodded, turning back to his job. "Anyway, your battle phase ends with that"

"And I also choose to end my turn with that turn of events"

"Well thank you" I drew a card, seeing solemn wishes. "Perfect, I place a face down" placing the trap down. "And I attack your Rafael with Dunames"

"Which is intercepted by Gabriel" I'm not going to say what happens, you know.

"And I'll take a risk by attacking Lucifer with Mercenary hero" please say this works.

"Go trap" oh jeez "Enchanted Javelin" the card flips up, showing the javelin, which Lucifer holds as he braces for an attack. The mercenary charges forward faster then can be seen, slashing at the angel twice, then doing a backflip while slashing a third time. Lucifer is destroyed, dealing 500 points of damage to J.W. but he gained 2500 from the trap. (6500)

"Well, it went better then I thought it would" I admitted, smiling.

"I wanted you to do that"

"Really?"

"For my grand plan"

"Well, it had better be good, as it's your move"

_And for once, I don't want you to get a good card._

_End of chapter._

_Me: 4000 life points_

_Mercenary hero lvl 7_

_Dunames Dark witch_

_Blade defender_

_Solemn wishes._

_JW: 6500 life points_

_Holy Guardian, Gabriel_

_Holy crusader, Rafael_

_Solemn wishes_

_A face down_

I did my research on the angels for this


	39. Dueling with angels part 2

Sorry I'm late. Just finishing up the main story on a game. Given me a nice bit of creativity if I go and start another story…ever hear of Valkyria chronicles?

Which reminds me, if none of you got the Pactagonal thing, its supposed to be like the yellow sphere man who eats pills… go 'wacka' a lot…But I digress…

I may have a card wrong here, so please, bare with me as I may have to change this chapter

* * *

Chapter 39:

Duelling with angels

Part 2

Darkness...need I say more

_When we last left our hero_

_Craig/Dark/Me: 4000 life points_

_Mercenary hero lvl 7_

_Dunames Dark witch_

_Blade defender_

_Solemn wishes. (face down)_

_JW: 6500 life points_

_Holy Guardian, Gabriel_

_Holy crusader, Rafael_

_Solemn wishes_

_A face down_

Remind me to keep my edge up next time. For all this duel is worth, J.W deserves his title so far…but I bet the cards would disagree with him. Not after how they were treated. Justin is standing behind me silently…odd really, I thought he would have had some encouraging words of wisdom.

"My draw" J.W tells me, drawing a card and only registering it for one second. (7000, solemn wishes) before placing it down. "Holy Healer, Uriel, come forth and guide us" he announces. The card he played was…yes, you guessed it, another angel. This one is holding a wand in one hand and kinda praying with the other, while wearing semi-priest clothing (I say Semi as angels kinda put the grace on things) (4, 500, 1500) well, being in defence, I can understand the smile for now. And before it is asked, her wings are a vague blue outline.

"And as for her effect" J.W continues, holding his free hand up. "She gives me 200 life points every turn…"

"Trap activation!" I interrupt, swinging my free arm at the face down, seeing it flip up. "Solemn wishes" no need for explanations.

"You wasted time for that?" he asked, rhetorically.

"You wasted time for Uriel?" I replied, doing the same.

"Time is never wasted"

"Then why moan to begin with?"

"Why waste my time?"

"But you just said…"

"Enough" he points at my blade defender again. "Rafael, destroy Blade Defender with Light crusade!"

Yet again, the angel charges forth, with the light forcing the warrior's shields apart slightly. This was enough for the rapier wielding angel, who plunged the blade between the gap (doing a jump and lunge beforehand) and destroyed my monster. The shards come close to me and my jacket flails about a bit.

"Sorry, buddy" I say to myself, looking down as the wind died down. "I failed you there"

"You sure did" J.W taunted. I gritted my teeth so as to resist running at him.

"Knock it off J.W. the best are better at treating cards with respect" I point at him with my free hand. "As Yugi would say, Trust in the heart of the cards, but as I say, believe in the spirits of the cards. They shall guide you to victory"

"Heart? Spirit? You're more whacked out then I had heard, you know that?" he looked at me, a smirk on his face. "You talk to yourself, you believe in non-existent stuff, and best of all, you think everything to do with yugioh is coming true"

"Err, no, I just seem to be finding a lot of clichés happening" …what? It's true isn't it?

"To think you even made it this far"

"Craig is a good duellist and you know it!" Justin shouted. We both looked at him, seeing him holding his fist out.

"Who are you to talk?" J.W asked. Justin carried on.

"A good friend of his" Justin replied, standing next to me. "And I just know that he'll be able to beat you"

"Thanks for the support Justin" I told him, setting up the TV thing again…wait…hasn't he just…the picture on the TV 'screen' has Justin where he was before…and I know it was 10 second lag before so…could it be?

"Could you do me a favour, Justin?" I asked him, smiling, pretending I was just thinking about the duel.

"What?" he replied, looking at me.

"Get Simon and company, they might want to be witness to the dethroning of the king"

"Ok, be back in a flash"

He ran off towards the academy, which wasn't too far, granted…but far enough for me to see what's what. When Justin had left eyesight, I turned to J.W, smiling.

"Want to fill me in?" I asked him, lowering my eyebrows.

"On what?" he replied. I looked at the screen seeing no change.

"On why this duel isn't actually being recorded"

"So you finally figured it out" he told, more then asked. I could see a pair of red eyes behind the visor. "Well, couldn't hurt to tell you what's going on then"

"What?"

"Why don't we take this duel somewhere…a little more private?"

He slammed his free arm onto the ground and said some weird words…I don't know what language or what he's saying, but I have a feeling it can't be good. His arm turns as black as an unlit night sky and suddenly the area around us starts turning black as well. I looked around in worry, what the hell was going on? His arm goes back to normal.

"What have you done?" I ask, scared by the darkness. He looks at me (yes I'm surprised we can see each other as it is pitch black elsewhere) and smiles.

"Welcome to the shadows" he tells me, giving me a toothy grin.

"The shadows?"

"If you've been going through the clichés, then surely this one should have been on your list…after all, the Shadow games were around in the beginning of the whole anime"

"Shadow game?" I look around again. "This can't be a shadow game…they aren't even real!"

"Oh, but they are" he gives me an evil grin and points at my monsters. "And besides, the true effects of this realm have yet to occur!"

I was about to ask 'what true effects?' when I felt a heavy feeling in my…soul I guess. It gets harder to breathe as this 'weight' gets heavier. My free arm aches and just about every part of me feels the pressure of this place.

"Why…bring me…here?" I ask, fighting to speak.

"Simple…you are in the way" he replied.

"In the way…of what?"

"My master"

"Who?"

"Why speak to a dead man?"

"Dark, this realm has…" Ruby starts…

"Let me guess, an effect on the people within" I mentally reply.

"How did you…?"

"It's already occurring"

"Craig, no one can hold on for long in this realm. No mortal can anyway" Lightblade tells me.

"Not helping, Lightblade"

"We'll try to find a way to help out…" Darkblade starts, but is interrupted.

"Let me take a crack at the reins" a new, deep voice starts.

"Now who wants to join the club?" I ask, annoyed at the repertoire of spirits I seem to have.

"Doesn't matter right now, just call me Matea" I can mentally see Darkblade look at me questioningly.

"Look…I don't care what happens, so long as I'm not lost to the shadows" I replied. Still in thought. Darkblade bows and leaves my…I suppose mind's eye.

"Not a problem…and, if you want, I'll give you access to everything you need to learn about me…as in need to learn"

"Just take over already"

This is a weird moment, so bare with me as I try to explain what's happening. I start to see a glow coming from around my neck and…well, it's the pentagram. It's a kinda dark glow though, with some weird flames. The light begins to move around me and I feel a strange feeling surge through me, following my blood streams. Next thing I know, I feel…different altogether. Almost like a new person. I can see a bit of my hair oddly, it's gotten some odd silver streaks.

"Guys, get learning" I tell my duel spirits. I blink as I get used to the feeling, looking at myself…yep, just like a Yami, I'll give the guys that much credit, but it doesn't 'feel' like a Yami. I look at J.W, remembering the duel.

"You are going DOWN, J.W!" I tell him, my voice oddly lower then before. Just imagine the generic heroic voice and that's it. J.W looks surprised at this. "Don't think that I will lose in the shadows, as a lot worse has happened to my foes"

"So you finally arrive" he tells me, smiling. "About time…I was getting bored with the host"

"Well for once, you're going to have to wait" I draw a card, gaining 500 life points (4500) and feeling lighter. I look at the card…Bow knight. "I switch Dunames to defence, Bow Knight, to the field" the fairy flies backwards as the archer appears runs onto the field, looking at J.W. "I discard Chaos knight to bring out Bow Synchron" I place the card from my hand to my grave. Pulling Bow Synchron from my deck and placing her on the field. She runs on, standing next to Bow Knight, her crossbow loaded. "And now, I tune the two together" the pair both fire arrows upwards, the arrows colliding with no tuner rings…just a bright light above us. "Archer of angels blood, come forth and guide our hands with the sacred winds" here she comes. "Synchro summon, Silveneste, Archer of the winds"

She falls to the ground, landing gracefully as ever. Her bow seems whiter then before, giving off a light. She stands up, looking around.

"Man, this place is dark" she looks at me. "Ready to fight"

"First off, summer winds if you would, using Mercenary hero level 3 as the monster in question" It felt good getting 1500 extra life points as she used the breeze to give me them. (6000). "Thank you, now then, if you would do me a favour and destroy his Crusader with Gale force arrow"

"No problem" she turns around, pulling an arrow out of her quiver and firing it dead straight at the angel.

"Gabriel, intercept!" J.W shouts, the guardian doing so and shifting to attack.

"Mercenary hero, strike Gabriel with Aether assault"

The mercenary throws his, now darker gold blade upwards, following it and flipping in the air. He brings it down hard on the angel's shield, smashing it into thousands of pieces, along with its holder. I guess I was wrong about the trap…who knew? Well, J.W of course, but still. He now loses a grand total of 2500 life points. (4500). He felt that one. OH YEAH.

"You hurt me?" J.W comments, almost shocked.

"Only life points" I tell him, smiling. "Besides, isn't this what you did to the others?" bluffing here, but you'll see what inkling I've got.

"Others?"

"Micelle Tiemaill!" I shout, Silveneste and J.W both looking at me.

"You mean the duellist who disappeared in the dorm?" Silveneste asked, I nodded.

"The same…and, if this is what J.W is doing to me, what's to stop him from doing this before now?" Probably worded wrong, but you see the point. J.W then starts laughing like hell, drawing his eyes off the duel. "What's so funny? Ruining lives for fun…or did you expect me to roll over and lose like the others?"

He stops laughing. "You're insane, you know that?" coming from the person who started a shadow game…yeah, I'm more insane…not! "Where's your proof that I even duelled them?"

"I'm sure a simple disk check will place you in the same place when they vanished" oh yeah, more then one. The best of the best, the ones who stand a good chance. J.W looks at me stunned. I've found you're weak spot now, 'golden knight'. "I accuse you of being behind the last 2 years of vanishing acts on this island and even the tourneys!" the day he took the title.

"It was only a matter of time before someone figured it out I suppose" he admits, smiling. "And there's still a lot missing"

"You mean…" Silveneste starts, turning and looking shocked.

"More victims, the ones who tried… and failed to take my place" he looks down, avoiding my gaze. "They wanted another chance…so I gave it to them"

"So I'm right" he nodded. "You are beyond any kind of redemption"

"I know, which is why I keep fighting…to keep my title"

"Remind me to do a lot more then take this guys title" I told Silveneste, seeing her nod.

"Get in the line, the others want at him for this" she replied, spinning her bow around in her hand.

"What, the shadow game or the disappearances?"

"Shadow game"

"Get behind me for the others then"

"Are you about done, or are we going to sit here talking?" J.W moaned.

"I'm done, but you soon will be as well"

Now, something weird happened here. The sights around started to blur as J.W drew his card. One minute it was dark and I couldn't see anything apart from him and the monsters, next I'm in a stone corridor with some dull colours. I found myself walking along this, seeing soldiers in medieval armour and weaponry running about, an emblem I didn't recognise of three swords and a halo was evident all over them.

"What do you mean 'we have to accept casualties'? We're destroying the village with our own troops!" someone shouted. A bit lower then my normal voice.

"In order to combat the Qualtineste forces, we need more soldiers. And the only way to recruit is to scare them into fighting" someone else replied, he sounded regal to say the least.

As I turned a corner I found myself looking into what I presumed was a war council. Two generals in armour ever side, one with a massive axe on his back, the other with two swords and a spear. A map was set up on an ornate table in the centre. The pair turned to me, smiling as I walked in.

"Kanan, it's good to see you" the one on the left (regal, axe) told me, smiling.

"You asked to see me sir" I found myself replying, walking towards the table.

"Yes, we have a job for your…soldiers if you would have it"

"Just tell me what it is and payment"

"Attack the village of Slak modan and kill everyone. Make it look like the Quantineste did it"

"But sir…Slak modan is a neutral town in Gallia. And they have pledged neutrality"

"No one cares any more, Kanan, just get your mercenaries equipped as the enemy and move out. We need that village levelled or else. Payment is 29000 menary" the guy who held the axe

"29000! Man that's a lot. But I don't feel right attacking civilians"

"Well then, I guess you've out lived your usefulness" the swordsman told me, drawing his pair and going into a stance like someone from the .hack series. I drew a black longsword from somewhere.

"Silomae, if you do this, I will be forced to slay you"

"But what about me?" Axe boy asked, getting his massively over sized axe on one shoulder, holding it with both hands. "Can you beat us both, Kanan?"

"Lectomai, I, as a mercenary of Macalnica, shall succeed in any endeavour relating to war" Man, whoever I'm supposed to be weren't overconfident were they? I pull a spear from nowhere, finding it chaining itself to my hand. "And these two blades have never failed me yet"

"Engard, Kanan!"

The pair seem to charge me, with me yelling something and counter attacking. Oddly the vision ends there, returning me to the duel.

"I draw" he draws, looking at the card, then adding it to his hand. "I put Rafael into defence mode and end my turn" the angel moves his shield in front of him as Uriel glows, as does solemn wishes. (5200)

"I've got you on the ropes now" I tell him, drawing a card (6500)…Blade Trainer…PERFECTO. "I summon blade Trainer to the field"

This little guy may be my greatest weapon at the minute. A small guy wearing pieces of leather with a very small short sword walks onto the field standing next to Silveneste away from the mercenary hero. As the hero looks at him, the blade monster, hides behind Silveneste. The woman looking at him, then the hero.

"No clue" She tells him, the hero shaking his head and refocusing on the battle.

"Now It's time to bring forth my strongest Synchron" I announce, holding my hand up. "I Tune Blade trainer to Mercenary hero level 7, giving me 8 stars to use" the trainer walks slowly over to the hero, holding his hand out to the warrior. The mercenary plunges his sword into the ground, kneeling down and grabbing the shrimp's hand, shaking it as the trainer turns into the 1 ring, going around the hero as he stands up.

"The sacred swords call out to there wielder. Take a tight grip of the blades and tear the shadows asunder!" bright green light, followed by: "Synchro Summon! Blade Master! Come forth!"

A warrior in black robes, appears in the centre of the light. When it fades, the guy looks…awesome. 6 blades floating close by him. 5 of which I recognise (Ragnarok, Excalibur, Durundal, Soul blade, Chaos) the other looking black with a long thin, shallow…I guess a channel down the blade if you know what I mean. In his hand is yet another blade, in a sheath. And his right arm (I suppose sword arm) is empty, just lightly armoured and flexible. (8 star, 2800 attack points, 1800 defence points) I can see a few glimmers of armour under that robe, but not too much.

"The tables have turned, J.W" I started, punching the air in his general direction. "What you've done to so many others will be avenged today"

"This duel is still young, Dark. I can still win!" J.W shouts. Silveneste Randomly looking at Blade Master.

"I wondered where that blade had gone" she commented, looking towards me. "Before you ask, I'll explain once we win" nod, looking at the champ.

For now, I can pull this back and clinch the win. But considering he's the champ…will he be that easy to topple?

_End of chapter_

_Duel stats_

_Dark_

_6500 life points_

_Solemn wishes_

_Silveneste, the archer of the winds_

_Blade master_

_J.W_

_5200 life points_

_Holy Healer, Uriel_

_Holy Crusader, Rafael._

_Solemn wishes._

_A face down_

* * *

So, a vision, a long duel (the longest so far, taking three chapters so far) and a few new cards as yet unused (Blade trainer and Blade master) there are more on the way…along with twists and turns as this part of the story ends.

Oh, and with blade master…I wasn't sure if it was a synchro or a normal summon so, I played it by 'logic' (level 8 and there are many powerful level 8s like him) if I'm wrong….than I've got a feeling I may be wrong and have to rewrite…sorry.

Next chapter

Duelling with angels

Part 3

Faith and hope

The will to win.

Keep reading people, this duel has some life yet.

At least 2 more chapters before the fated end.

And to those of you who might say nothing has happened in the shadow game yet, they haven't gone below the 4000 point start, so nothing is lost yet…technically.

Besides, if you haven't figured out yet, I have a yami and J.W seems to be possessed.  
huzzar


	40. dueling wth angels part 3

Ok, I need to get working on this, need to finish this section of the story *aura around me that would show way OVER 9000!!!!!* let's roll!

Oh, by the way, if none of you got the pactagonal thing, it's pacman. Just so you know now. If you did get it then…well done. Have a cookie.

Chapter 40:

Dueling with angels

Part 3

Faith and hope

The table turner

_Duel stats_

_Dark_

_6500 life points_

_Solemn wishes_

_Silveneste, the archer of the winds_

_Blade master_

_J.W_

_5200 life points_

_Holy Healer, Uriel_

_Holy Crusader, Rafael._

_Solemn wishes._

_A face down_

"Let's get things off with Blade Master" I speak, pointing at my synhro monster. "Annihilate his Healer with Chaos Impendant blades!" the warrior spins his swords around him, moving his hand in a circular motion in front of him. he draws his sword as he does so, pointing it at the healer.

The swords stop. They then point at the angel, flying at her at an amazing speed. He follows, holding his sword at his side. The blade split off and then pierce through the angel, her magical invisible shield (well I for one didn't see it before) only just holding them off…well, it did, until the master swung 'Tiberium' at it, the blade cutting through the shield like a hot knife through butter. He struck the angel with the blade, shattering like dust flew in the wind. J.W seemed surprised…well, more pissed that I had destroyed the lifepoint machine…but worse is yet to come for him.

"And now for the next step" I told him, seeing him gritting his teeth, his eyes glowing red under that visor. "You take piercing damage"

"WHAT!!" he shouted. Blade master ignored it, holding 'Tiberium' up, the other swords flying next to it, touching the blade.

"My maths puts that at 1300" 2800-1500=1300 right? Anyway the blade master throws Tiberium in a straight line at J.W, the other blades following. "Soul cutter!"

The blades strike at J.W, my opponent, defending himself from the sword assault. His life points dropping by 1300…thankfully (3900). I looked at Silveneste, she looked back at me. "Silveneste! Destroy his Crusader with Arrow rain"

"You got it"

She notched about 15 arrows (how?) to her bow, aiming upwards and firing them all at once. She used her wind powers to guide the arrows so that they dropped down upon the crusader. He held his shield up, trying to block the arrows. He succeeded with most of them…but one managed to hit his leg, with another bouncing off his shield and hitting his arm. Before anything else happened, he faded to dust. I smiled, gaining the upper hand in life points after getting in a powerful strike. (3200)

"And with that, I'll end my turn" this was good. I may be out of useful cards in my hand, but I can beat the champ now…and before the tournament ends…and in a shadow game. I'm going to survive. J.W starts laughing…why does every evil villain laugh at some point. "What's so funny?"

"You rejoice at your small victory when you haven't even seen the rest of the battle" he told me, looking straight at me. "While I commend your victories, you will go no further then this"

"Oh really?"

"You don't see the damage this realm has done have you?"

"Couldn't really care to be honest, considering you brought us here" I should care…I should be freak that I don't care…so why aren't I?

"This is the damage the shadows deal"

He raised his right arm…well, I think he did as his hand moved, but the arm didn't appear to be there. Just a gap, like in the other shadow games in Yugioh like Marik vs Bakura or whatever they are known as in Japan. This did freak me out, even with…whoever this was…Matea?

"So, you brought us here, If you want to live, then take us out" I told him, holding my fist up. "Otherwise, be prepared to lose it all"

"Oh, I'm not going to be losing" he told me, confidentially. "Not with this draw" he drew a card (3700), looking at it. I could see his eyes widen. Was the card really that bad? He looked up and laughed a long, deep laugh. Ok, maybe the card was good. "Finally, the cards of your demise are assembled"

"Come again!" He couldn't have some big combo could he?

"First off, due to 4 angels being in my grave, I can play a spell card known as Chronicles of the Valkyria!" he shouts, placing a card down. It appeared and flipped up on the field. The picture was a leather bound book with the words 'stories as yet untold' on the front. "With this, I can summon Selvaria, Valkyria of the battlefield from anywhere in my deck to the field" I think you call that a special summon.

Either way, he pulled out his deck and looked through it, pulling out a card and placing it on the field, along with his deck in its usual spot, quickly reshuffling. A woman with long, white (not old white/grey I mean white) hair. She wore what looked like near modern armour, holding a…I don't really know how you'd describe it, but it was kind of a metal…spiral made lance…well, too big and the hand grip was in some weird circle of the same make. She also held a spiral design metal shield, big enough to cover her without blocking her sight. She had a blue flame coming from her as well…well, more surrounding her, as if she were the source. (7, 2700, 0)

"Then, I play the spell card 'Succeeded wish'" he continued, placing the card down. It popped up with a picture of a graveyard…well, more cemetery but the difference is this one looked…alive, well kept, whatever you want to say. Almost as if the dead were respected here. The whole area around us turned into the picture shown, nice well made graves popping up around us, even a pathway and a stone wall all around the fields of graves.

"Nice effect" I told him, feeling the grass beneath my feet. "So what does this do then?"

"Every angel type monster on the field gains 500 attack and 300 defence points" he told me, smiling.

"So it's more a field then a spell" I correct, smiling back.

"Stop being cocky" he tells me, pointing to his Valkyria. "3200 and 300!"

"Congratulations, you can add, and what is your next trick?"

"The destruction of your master, that's what" he points at my warrior. "Selvaria, destroy his blade master with Gatling beam"

"Huh?"

His monster points the lance at my warrior, a white afterimage following her movements. He grips the lance tightly, a blue light forming at the end. The blade master moves the blades in front if him, making a star shaped shield in front of him, the other two blades reinforcing the shield as a blue aura filled the gaps. A massive blue beam flies out of the shield, heading straight towards the blade master.

His shield doesn't stand a chance. The blades fly off the brace he made, the beam hitting him. After the light fades, all that's left are 5 swords, point down in the ground, and the sheathed sword behind me and Tiberium in the ground in front of us. Silveneste whistled at that, looking at Selvaria.

"That's power" she commented, looking alarmed.

"Not the best time to compliment the enemy" I told her. She scratched her back as I said this. (6100) didn't feel anything vanish though. Still safe then.

"Selvaria's effect: you take damage equal to the destroyed monsters attack value!" J.W told me.

"What!" (3300) I felt a funny feeling in my left leg, looking at it and seeing that it had…well, vanished…eaten by shadows or whatever you want to call it. Either way my leg is gone…not even a foot. So what was I standing on?

"Feel the shadows yet?"

"Yeah I feel it" I told him, turning back to him. "But I think I'm better off then your going to be"

"It's your move, 'black knight'"

"Yeah yeah"

I draw a card, (3800) regaining some feeling in my leg as it somewhat returns…HEY! There's that quarter I lost. Sorry it's just I thought it had been stolen. I look at the card…Pot of greed. "Go, pot of greed. So I now draw 2 cards" (4300, my legs now fully back) I draw the cards and look at them…Graceful charity, good, Monster reborn, brilliant. "I now follow up with graceful charity, which let's me draw three cards, so long as two go" (4800) I draw three cards…Blade synchron, brilliant. Dark-Holy wrath, useful in future, magic thorn, worse. So long thorn and holy knight. I put these and the spells in the grave. "Ok, I have faith that this will work, so, I play monster reborn, to bring back my holy knight" I put the spell in the grave, pulling out holy knight and placing him on the field…he runs on, swinging his sword around. "Next, I summon Blade synchron to the field in attack mode" the squire runs on, trips and lands between the knight and Silveneste, getting up and dusting himself down. "And now, Blade Synchron, Holy knight, tune together"

Instead of the usual squire offering blade routine, the pair just put their swords together; 'speaking' a few words and the squire becomes the rings. "Oh warrior of Demon's blood, I ask you to aid our cause and bring forth the light!" green light, followed by. "Synchron Summon, Darkblade the holy. Come forth and save us from the chaos" he comes forth alright, this time the sword appears in the plume, the warrior running from the shadows, jumping up to grab the blade, and landing with the sword in the ground, him on top of it.

"Nice show" I tell him, face palming.

"Thank you" he replies, putting it on his shoulder. (defence mode)

"Remind me to ask you for shows less often" Silveneste told him, kneeling down with her bow reversed. (Defence)

"I'll end there" I tell J.W. I couldn't even land a mark on him that turn. All I could do was to try and brace for an assault I knew was coming…I so hoped he hadn't gotten a way to summon his strongest monster yet.

"those two aren't going to save you!" he told me, pointing at my monsters.

"I can delay you though" I replied, seeing my warriors look at me.

"Brave to the end" Darkblade commented, turning back to the duel.

"This isn't the end, this is just the beginning" I replied, smiling. "The real fight starts now!"

"I draw" J.W starts. (4200) he looks at the card and smiles. "I play the card known as tactics of war" he places the card down, a spell appearing, showing a cavalry group charging towards some gunners in some old battle scene…probably samurai.

"So that's the 2nd part" I commented, smiling. "The oriental…or rather the samurai"

"Doesn't take you too long now does it?" He told me, pointing at Darkblade. "Now, under this cards effect, I call a monster, and flip 3 coins. Following the same effect as your barrel dragon"

"How did you…"

"Oh, you should have known, seeing as you figured everything else out" he pointed at my pentagram. "I sent everyone after you…Elendil, James…even 'Squiddy'"

"You sent my brother after me…for what?"

"For two things: your elimination from the tournament…and your pentagram. He took a lot of…'persuasion', but in the end, he agreed, with a little… 'help'"

"I can understand the tournament thing…but why my pentagram?"

"A lot is on the horizon, Dark. If this planet is to survive, we need a weapon" he clenched his fist. "That Pentagram is full of power from the creatures travelling unseen. Give it to me and I'll let you go"

"Well, I don't see the point. We don't need a weapon to survive…all we need is self believe and hope" nearly a personal motto. "So I'm not giving this up…and if the shadows do take me, this goes with me"

"…Fine, then doom us all" he got a coin from nowhere, flipping it. "Heads" he told me after it had landed. He flipped it again. "Tails"

"Good luck Darkblade" I told him, seeing him looking at me.

"Remember, don't give up…your hope is just ahead" he told me.

"Heads" J.W finished. Two gunners appeared next to him, aiming at Darkblade with their muskets. All I heard were two load bangs. Darkblade was still, looking normal. Silveneste walked over to him.

"Darkblade?" she asked, tapping him. the warrior didn't reply. "Darkblade?" he dropped the greatsword, a loud clatter as it fell. He then fell to his knees, a louder series of clatters as his armour hit the ground. Then the final few as he slowly hit the ground, now officially dead in Yugioh terms. Silveneste knelt beside him, trying to wake him, nearly crying.

"Come on Darkblade…enough games" no response…oddly no shatter. I walked over to them, seeing Silveneste trying to get him up. "Come on" I helped her, getting Darkblade to sit up. No breathing, no signs of life…no. "Come on…shatter like you normally do" he didn't, just sitting there.

"Selvaria, finish Silveneste before I throw up" J.W coldly ordered. I looked at her, seeing her hesitate before firing a small shot of blue/white light at her. It hit her, burning a small hole right through her. She had a look of pain, torment and despair on her face as she fell next to Darkblade. "Piercing damage!"

Another 1200 life points off me then… (3600)…I don't care…he just killed these two. There bodies still aren't shattering. Why? Is this death permanent or something? I stood up, turning to J.W.

"You have asked for it" I told him, giving him an evil glare. "How could you do that before she even had a chance to defend herself!?"

"This is a game after all, Dark" he answered, looking smug. "But what you fail to grasp at this moment is that I have a spare quickplay" hang on…where. "Go swift strike!" the card flips up, showing a picture exactly like the card he used before, just with a different name. "Second strike Selvaria, attack his life points!"

Selvaria powers up her lance again, firing another shot. I feel the full force of this. (400) along with most of my body disappearing. All that's left are my hands, my disk and my head. This is getting too close.

"Soon, you will know what it means to lose in the shadows" he tells me, starting to laugh evilly.

_I'm not done yet J.W. My deck will pull this one from the brink I know it._

End of chapter

_Stats_

_Dark 400 LP_

_Solemn wishes_

_J.W 4200 LP _

_Selvaria, Valkyria of the battlefield (7, 2700+, 0+)_

_Succeeded wish (500 attack, 300 defence point boost to angel type monsters)_

_Solemn wishes._

_Next chapter_

_Fallen heroes_

_What lies ahead?_

Not long now, until the end. It's over in the next two chapters, I know that much.

But do expect the 'person' to change from 1st to 3rd. it's for something I have planned.


	41. dueling with angels part 4 finale

Just found the music vid to 5ds 3rd ending…and MAN is it good. I'm trying to find an MP3 for it with no luck so far.

If anyone finds one, could you send me the URL please.

Anywho, I was determined, so here it is. this'll be the last chapter for this 'season' so enjoy it because I'm taking a break from this after finishing it. So expect a delay with next 'season'.

* * *

Chapter 41

Duelling with angels

Part 4

Fallen heroes

What lies ahead?

_Stats_

_Dark 400 LP_

_Solemn wishes_

_J.W 4200 LP _

_Selvaria, Valkyria of the battlefield (7, 2700+, 0+)_

_Succeeded wish (500 attack, 300 defence point boost to angel type monsters)_

_Solemn wishes._

If you can't tell, I hate losing. So, right now, with VERY little leeway between victory and defeat…I absolutely hate it. I have barely anything to use. And what I do have is useless without one monster to overcome Selvaria's attack points.

Let's see, lifepoint difference…about to be 3300…monsters…a mean over 3000 pointer on his side and nothing on mine…confidence levels…probably somewhere, I apologise in advance for this but, OVER 9000(!!!) (sorry) on his side and lower then a limbo stick at carnival time in Jamaica (and that's as low as limbo sticks get) on mine

But then again, back to real life…then again, I guess being in a shadow game does kinda break the rules of what I conceived as reality. Maybe I should go back and change that sentence

Back to the duel (yeah that sounds better), with J.W's monster, the powerful (and good looking might I add) Selvaria. If I want to damage him I need to break through that monster AND deal an extra 4200 in one round if I want to end it now…which I do.

However, I'm stuck without a monster that has a grand total of…what was it? 7400 attack points so…HELP!!! J.W looks at me, smiling.

"Please, stop biding for time" he tells me. "I'd rather finish you off this turn"

"Alright, but I think I'll shatter your hopes" I tell him, putting my hand on the top of my deck. Darkblade and Silveneste visible out of my eye corner. The best move right now would be to get a strong offensive card, equip it with dark-holy wrath and hope for the best. I'm not sure how many monsters have fallen, but I know that will be my only hope.

"I pin all my hopes and dreams on this draw" I tell J.W, looking at my deck. "for everyone that has fallen to get us here. For the fallen warriors who lost their lives in this duel. For my friends who give me their support. Please, give me the power I require to win!!"

"DRAW!!" I pull the card out, hearing a sword being drawn yet again. A white trail follows my hand, turning to dust and floating in front of me. I look at the card…The price of freedom? Oh, that one. Forgot I had it in my deck. I hold it in front of me, giving off a bit of a laugh as I read the text. J.W looks at me weirdly, as if I'm going mad.

"ha ha ha, for all this time, I've just gotten the most useful card I could've done!" I shout, playing it. "I activate the spell known as the price of freedom!" the card appears on the field, along with a green glow.

"W, what does that card do?" J.W asks.

"I'll explain; it lets me summon any monster from my deck, graveyard, hand or fusion deck for a price of half your life points" well the 500 life points haven't gone to waste, as I'm still 50 above where I started with 450. "So now…"

"Your going to bring back Darkblade or Silveneste" J.W guesses. I shake my head. "Mercenary hero" yet more shaking. "What about Blade master?"

"Nope, and time's up" I pull out my extra deck, looking at the other two cards. "I special summon Ruby, the Mage knight of Light!!"

All you can hear in the background is a horse whinny and someone groan as the pair ride out from the gloom. Ruby looks a lot more confident then before, I'll say that much. She twirls the staff above her head before the horse lands in front of me. She looks around, smiling.

"So this is the shadow realm? It's a lot nicer then I thought" she comments.

"Look at his field spell. That's why it looks nice" I correct her. She sees the field spell and smiles.

"Ah, so this is what happened to Gallia"

"Gallia?"

"You saw it as well did you not?"

"The vision near the start?"

"Yes, I remember going there in my childhood and praying to the graves for there occupants safe journey" she looked around, looking more serious. "Exactly the same" she then saw the warrior pair. "Apart from those two bodies"

"That's Darkblade and Silveneste. I need to know why they haven't shattered like the rest of them"

"That's obvious, because of the magic cards associated with them" she looked up, seeing shadows. "You know, this place needs a bit of brightening up"

"This isn't extreme makeover: shadow realm edition"

"I get it, alright?"

She held the staff above her head, saying some strange words, and then moving the staff so that the end pointed towards the top of the shadows. A bright white sphere shot out the end, flying towards the target…eventually it disappeared, doing nothing.

"Was that it?" J.W asked, looking smug. "Is that all your 'mighty mage' can do? She might as well still be a magician of faith" both me and Ruby gasped.

"THAT was a low blow" she told him, gripping her staff tighter…even the pegasi looked pissed.

"Er, Ruby, if I may interrupt…" I started, she turned to me.

"WHAT!!?"

"Ok…can you bring a spell to my hand please?"

"What!!"

"Calmed down yet?"

"NO!"

"Zanetsuka if you please" you can see where I'm going with this.

"On it!" she span her staff, slamming the ground with it. The white dust from my…I suppose destiny draw amassing around it. She raised it above her head, the dust becoming the card I wanted.

"I play the spell Zanetsuka. So Arise, Shadow Saviour Darkblade, Rend the tides of shadow and restore the Light!" man I sound like Sartorious or however you spell his name.

A black light (don't ask) surrounds Darkblade, white sparks fall, landing on him and mainly on the bullet hole injuries. His appearance morphs to his shadow saviour one and he breaths in. the warrior looks around, slowly getting up, using his massive sword as a balance as he does so. He looks at Silveneste, a tear falling from his eye.

"For me to fail in protecting you. That is my sin" he speaks, walking over to us. "I shall avenge her by defeating you" he tells Selvaria.

"I'd like to see you try" she replies, smiling.

"Well I most likely have the card to topple this whole duel" I tell J.W and Selvaria. (Is she another duel spirit?) "I call on the forces of all that is holy in the shadows, of the fallen warriors of the past" I pull Dark holy wrath out and put it into play. "Give your strength to Darkblade, lend us your aid in finding victory in this battle"

Now, as I remove the holy Darkblade, this Darkblade gets a black aura around him. I can see ghosts of fallen monsters appearing next to their weapons or their bodies…even anywhere. Silveneste is the last, standing next to Darkblade.

"Use my power" she tells him, turning into a red flame. The others do as well and all the flames converge on Darkblade's sword. (from 3500 to 6500…YES)

"Darkblade, do us all a favour would you?" I ask him. He looks at me and nods before charging forward. "Infernal Silmerian slash of shadows!"

Darkblade disappears, but you can hear his footsteps. He suddenly reappears behind Selvaria, moving towards me while running the blade through her. The sword does hurt her, but oddly, doesn't kill her. Darkblade disappears again, this time doing the same but at right angels to before. Selvaria falls to the floor before shattering. (900) most of J.W disappears.

"Ruby, do me a favour. With Darkblade's strength break the realm barrier!" I shout at her. She nods, doing the same as before but Darkblade holding the sword up in the air. This time, as the ball of light hits the shadows, a large red crack appears. "YES!"

"The shadow realm!" J.W shouts, as the crack spreads all around the…dome shaped shadows. Once it has gone all the way round, it shatters leaving us back in our own world…more or less Hawaii. "Just because we're out doesn't mean you're safe" everything he lost reappears.

"I know, but I can win this now" I tell him, everything I lost reappearing as I walk forward, standing next to Ruby and Darkblade. "Thanks a lot guys…now Let's win this duel!"

"At once" Darkblade replies

"I call on Selvaria's 2nd effect" J.W tells me. A blue flame separating my field and his. "When she is destroyed, your battle phase ends"

"Great, why do I think I can see what's coming?" I ask the pair, seeing them concentrate on the duel as I head back to my position. "Well, make your last move. 'king'"

"Of course" he draws a card, (1400) looking at it and smiling. "I play the spell 'Ocean's compass'" he tells me, the spell appearing on the field…and sure enough, the oceans look like a compass on it. "With it, I can look at the top 5 cards of my deck, pick 3 to add to my hand and the rest are reshuffled"

The holograms changed, showing 5 cards in front of him. The blue flames died down as he officially started his 1st main phase. He smiled as he picked the three cards, the trio appearing in his hand as the other 2 went into his deck randomly. "And now to finish this"

"What? Are you ending your turn?" I asked him, smiling.

"No, I'm ending your career... and YOU!"

"Try it and see"

"I will do, but first off I call a monster effect" he tells me, pulling a card out of his deck. "Due to 4 angel monsters being in my grave, I can special summon the tuner monster 'Angelic light'"

You know that light that is supposed to appear when god is talking to you…well that is on the field. (1, 0, 0) I wasn't surprised with the point count. "And I also play the spell 'undersea sanctuary'" he places the spell down, a card popping up that shows a cave underwater "With it, I can summon a monster from the depths of the ocean"

"So the 3rd section is water or ocean I suppose" I guessed, smiling. "Grasping at straws"

"I bring back Selvaria" the woman reappears, holding her lance tightly. "And tune the two together"

The light goes onto Selvaria, lighting her up. She bows to 'God' as the ring comes down on her. "The strength of the Angels is unmatched, show the opponent the wrath of the holy!!" Bright light. I didn't like where this was going. "Synchro Summon: Holy avenger Wielder of the Darkblade!!"

Oh Christ, she's here, the warrior angel of the duel from before. Images of the duel with the flame queen pop into my head. The tool of my destruction is here…thankfully it's a warrior type, not an angel type. But still… (8, 2800, 2600)

"Your maths is wrong. The only monster she can destroy is Ruby, and that will only deal 100 life points of damage" I tell him, feeling slightly more confident.

"True, but I activate the spell God's Aura" he places it down, a picture of…well, what just happened with Selvaria, on the card. "I equip it to my avenger, giving her 1000 more attack points!"

"WHAT? No!!!" 1100 damage means…defeat.

"Oh yes. Holy avenger, destroy Ruby the Mage knight of Light! Dark sword of judgement!"

The angel flies towards Ruby, the mage holding her staff up to defend herself…to no avail…the angel creeps slowly towards my mage as the pair collide…

_3__rd__ POV time._

"Justin, are you sure it was this way?" James asked him. Justin nodded.

"Dark magician also kept track. He's out here" he replied, Dark magician appeared and nodding.

The group of 6 were running through the forests in order to get to Craig's Match. After Justin told them about it being on telly, they had checked and found nothing. Every so often a tree branch would hit someone but they all ignored it, running on.

"Why would J.W challenge Craig now?" Simon asked, looking at the group.

"To gauge his strengths and weaknesses" Andrew told him, looking at Simon. "It's a simple thing but effective"

"Guys, shouldn't we be focusing on finding Craig first?" Ryan asked, the group getting out of the forest and stopping before going over the cliff. "Now what?"

"Do any of you hear that?" Elendil asked, looking around.

"Hear what?" James asked. Justin and Andrew heard it, but the other three obviously didn't.

"Sounds like a bell" Elendil told the guys, running in its direction. "This WAY!"

The rest of the group followed Elendil, eventually getting to the end of the duel. J.W ordering the attack, Ruby trying to fight it off, and the agonisingly long time between the attack and the damage.

"CRAIG!" James shouted, seeing the duel. Craig looked at his brother, seeing the group near him.

"Well look, an audience to see your demise" J.W tells Craig, Craig oddly silent as the attack pauses. "Holy avenger, finish…"

J.W stops there, his finger nearly pointing at Ruby. Craig notices this, as does Elendil. But no one else does. His arm is shaking violently and he is breathing heavily. The red glow from his eyes have faded.

"Dark…help…me" J.W speaks. Craig only just makes it out.

"What?"

"I…don't…want…dead" J.W strains out, clutching his head. "I don't wanna….hurt you…"

"Fight it J.W. come on, be the champ!" Craig shouts, seeing the agony and the opportunity to break the possession.

"I…can't…win…must"

"GET BACK UNDER CONTROL, SLAVE!" J.W shouts, as he regains control. Elendil looks between the two, seeing a vague outline of a black demon wing and white angel wing on Craig…and it was a very fine outline at that. "Sorry about that…now…Holy avenger, finish this!"

The angel finally slashes Ruby, the mage shattering. He then spins round, the blade glowing black as he deals the 1100 damage to Craig. (0) he remains still as the hologram system shuts down, J.W calmly walking away. The others run over to him.

"Craig" James started, seeing his brother not moving. "Craig?"

"I'm…sorry…James" Craig managed to fight out, before falling on one knee. "I… can't…keep…promise…Mum"

"What are you talking about?" James replies, kneeling in front of Craig, mostly to keep him up as realisation hits the group over what happened. "We're going to go home together, see Mum, and brag about how we beat the competition" Craig gave one laugh.

"Maybe…you could…all of you…could…but I'm…not long…here"

"What?" Elendil asks, helping James.

"It was…a shadow…game…I'm lucky…to have…this short…time"

"Craig you've been in them before!" Justin and Andrew both say at the same time, Justin stopping. "Come on, you didn't give up back then"

"Back…when?"

"3 years ago…you know?"

"He wouldn't know" Justin told him silently, looking deadly serious. "I did something to him"

"Come on Craig, these are only clichés" Ryan tells Craig, trying to help.

"Yeah, yugioh doesn't have shadow games, or shadow realm or anything" Simon chipped in.

"Guess…it does…but" he fell onto his other knee, James trying to hold him up. "I'm …sorry"

"Come on Craig, if we stand you up you'll be right as rain" James tells him, everyone backing up as James tries it. Somehow, the teen managed to stay standing, even though he was swaying a lot.

"I'm…sor…" Craig tries to repeat.

Suddenly he falls onto the ground, chest first, dust kicking up around him a bit. Everyone is desperately trying to get him up as Elendil looks at him, seeing no life.

"No…no he can't be" she starts, tears forming in her eyes before she starts crying fully, kneeling by Craig's side. She looks upwards, crying like a waterfall.

"DARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she shouts, sobbing even more.

* * *

_  
Back to 1__st__ POV._

Now where the hell am I? Feels kinda…grassy. I open my eyes and see a blue sky. Looking around I see that I'm in a field. I stand up, scanning the horizon…nothing but grass as far as the eye can see in all directions.

"Hello!" I shout, hoping someone's nearby. "Anyone here?!" no answer. "Hello!!" no answer again. "Any body?" no answer.

"SOME ONE ANSWER!!! WHERE AM I?" I shout, hoping someone heard me…nothing, just an echo. I sit back down, checking myself and finding I'm in one piece. "I'm all alone" I say to myself, putting my arms around my legs and scrunching up (if that's the right word) "I want to go home"

Is this where that pathway leads…the pathway of a duellist destined to be an unknown.

"I don't want to be alone"

* * *

So the fated end as fated

I had to lose sometime.

I reckon Ozone by visitlip is a good song at the minute.

Either that or your not alone.

Anyway…I need some kinda ending…but this isn't the end…only of season one.

Points if you knew this was going to happen.

Anyway, I'm taking a small break from yugioh fics for a bit, as I've got other stories to write. If the 3rd person bit seems rubbish, I'm too used to doing 1st person.

Anyway chaps. This is thebladeofchaos, or Craig, or Dark, saying:

Another story done, another one waiting


End file.
